God is good!!! by Rachel

God is so good to me!!!
When I cry he comforts me!
When I am afraid I trust in you.
He is good always.

mr. clean

Josiah decided to help me clean today. First he sprayed himself on the neck with Windex, and shortly thereafter I saw a cloud of Comet puff into the air in front of him, followed by a round of sneezing. All this took place with me standing 2 feet away, which indicates his quickness. You can see the results. And maybe understand why I plan to get a dog who will track his every move. (Just kidding, Dad, you can take Sammy back into the house now. He gets into as much trouble as the toddler.)

It is because of kids like this that we eventually have mechanics, engineers, neurosurgeons, and theologians. (Wink in Jared's direction.) "Let's see what this will do. I wonder how to take it apart? I wonder if I can get it back together before Mom notices? I wonder if it will still work? I wonder...well, why wonder, let's just try it."

fields white for the harvest

One week from today, part of our family will be participating in the Bloomington Block Bash. This is an opportunity our church has been given to partner with west-side churches to build bridges to the people of west Bloomington. Held at Miller Park from 1-4 on Aug. 2, there will be activities for kids, seminars for adults, prayer stations, food, and school supply give-aways. Would you be in prayer for this event?

General requests:
-all that takes place would be for God's glory
-God would prepare hearts to know Him
-good weather
-Spirit-filled workers equipped for their task
-divine appointments

Eric
-the joy of serving God and others would encourage and refresh his heart
-opportunities to share God's love with the kids and parents who play the game he and Micah are hosting

Micah
-God would awaken and encourage a concern for others as he hosts one of the games the kids will play
-endurance to cheerfully serve in this way for 3 hours

Leah
-sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's leading as she helps at a prayer station
-opportunities to share the gospel with those she prays with; wisdom to know how to best represent God's good news to each person who comes to her

We covet your prayers and will give an update when it's over!!

waterbug

Fear and pride intermingled! Which emotion will win out?

He won't practice blowing bubbles in the pool, but anywhere else will do!!
Happiness is being completely soaked!

why I love the gospel

Tell me the story of Jesus, Write on my heart every word; Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard.

It seems like everything I have read, studied, attended, and pondered this summer has come back to this one theme: the beauty of the gospel. Whether exploring the meaningless of life lived without God as shared by Solomon in Ecclesiastes, the "problem" of postmodernism, or hearing the gospel simply told to children, the cry of my heart has echoed over and over with the words to the song above. God's message to us in Christ is the best news man has ever heard. Here are a few quick reasons I love the gospel.

1. It is true.
This goes beyond what I learned and accepted as a child at the knees of my parents and Sunday School teachers. I can believe the gospel not only because I trust those who passed it on to me, but because all of the evidence points to its truth. What an exciting adventure it is to discover the accuracy of the words of the Bible as it has been passed down to us, the evidence of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and the testimony of the saints through the ages since. Archeological evidence always upholds the historical events of both the Old and New Testament. (Even when something seems to point to the contrary, the evidence bears out in the end.)

2. It meets our deepest need.
Man was utterly broken at the fall. Sin resulted in our separation from God, leading to loss of signficance, meaning, purpose, and hope. Nothing that is worthwhile in this life can be experienced apart from Him. There was no way out of this mess for man, he was hopeless to rescue himself. But God provided the rescue in Jesus!! Through Him we are restored to the relationship we were created to experience; that of God's fellowship with man. Man's true significance and purpose are found only when this relationship has been reconciled. The greater our understanding and application of this reconciliation, the greater our purpose and hope in Him grows.

3. It is the power of God.
What man is unable to do on his own, God does for us in Christ. We have salvation, forgiveness, and power to be transformed. We are no longer what we were, but we begin to recognize and become who we were created to be. He gives healing and deliverance from the strongholds of sin. We have power given by His Spirit to follow His commands.

4. It raises our eyes to heaven.
And gets them off ourselves. We begin to ascribe to God the greatness and glory He is due. We see the greatest thing in this world is not ourselves, but the God who created us. Who can begin to speak of His worth? Yet we see glimpses of how great He is. We stand on the edge of grandeur and stop thinking about ourselves as we take in all God is and does.

5. It helps us see others.
How can a heart touched by the love and kindnesses of God fail to pass that love on to others just as needy and broken as we are? We begin to love not for what we can gain from our acts love, but out of what we have gained from the love of God.

Tell of the cross where they nailed Him, writhing in anguish and pain; Tell of the grave where they laid Him, Tell how He liveth again. Love in the story so tender, clearer than ever I see: stay, let me weep while you whisper, Love paid the ransom for me.

you may not want to kiss him

This was one of those mornings that Josiah woke up with a gleam in his eye and ideas in his mind. I found him carrying Eric's toothbrush around and chased him into the bathroom, where he showed me he had been dipping it into the toilet to brush his teeth!!!

Later I was folding laundry and things got very quiet, always a bad sign. A quick check on Josiah found him in the storage room, blowing bubbles in the cat's water. Boy those swimming lessons have come in handy.

Stay tuned!!

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

what it looks like when the toys are off the floor

Micah's room before we painted.















His bottom bunk will one day be occupied by Josiah, but until then, Rachel spends as much time there as she does in her own room. (Thus the glimpse of pink striped sheets at the end of the bottom bunk!)










Rachel and Josiah's room before paint...













and after! This is the brightest spot in the house, partly due to the color and partly due to the company it keeps. We are wondering how long before the crib will have to be replaced with a toddler bed? Mom is hoping for as long as possible!!



Stay tuned for another set of before and after photos. I promise they will be the last!!

it's a hit!!!

If he'd been my firstborn, I would have cut the corn off the cob and spoon-fed it to him. And missed the joy of this moment!!!

happy birthday, America!!

Our neighborhood celebrates the 4th of July in a big way, complete with breakfast, a bike parade, and games for the kids. There are more kids than we ever imagined living on 5 short streets.










Micah taking off on his bike!!













Rachel's grin says it all, teeth or no teeth!














Josiah finds the best view of events from Poppa's shoulders.











Our family topped off Independence Day celebrations with a parade and fireworks in Rockford. With over 4000 shot off (half in the grand finale), this fireworks display is billed as the largest in Illinois. Our kids were not disappointed. Our once timid-about-fireworks Rachel stood up after the show and shouted, "That was AWESOME!!" Honestly, there were times throughout the day when I wondered if we were making much ado about nothing. Then in the Rockford parade, I saw the veterans of many wars who have fought for our freedoms, which extend far beyond the enjoyment of little neighborhood parties and politically focused parades. Yep, I'd say it is cause for the best celebrations we can drum up. And even more cause for the best we can give back to the nation that has given us so much. Thank you, God, for blessing America. May your people here be a blessing for you as we continue to stand for truth and justice in a country and world gone wrong.

This week

Josiah: ended up facedown in the water at the pool for about 5 seconds before I could reach him. He was so still in the water, and I think he must have held his breath. BUT he was quite scared after that. He seems to be getting less nervous about it every time we venture back into the pool. After all, water slides are pretty fun and you have to land in the water to do them!! Miss Connie is helping him learn to swim and she's so patient with him.

Micah: had an emergency trip to the dentist last night. The dentist had warned us at his last visit that he had a dying tooth. It cracked in half when he bit on a chocolate chip in his ice cream. He shook like a leaf as we dealt with the aftermath. Once the dentist had pulled the tooth, the relief was written all over his face. And did you know the tooth fairy leaves extra money for cracked teeth?

Rachel: has given us no scares this week. You go girl!! Could you have a talk with your brothers?

As always, we're thankful for the way God protects our children.

Good news, sort of

I'm happy for Annika as her latest medical test came back OK!! Please keep this family in your prayers as Annika endures testing to find out why she is having lung issues and whether or not she will need a third liver transplant. Rachel and Annika were in preschool together. (See sidebar under blog list: Falling Down is Also a Gift.)