How Great is Our God, indeed.
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
How Great is Our God
While on my way to a friend's house last night, I was struck by the splendour and majesty of our Great God. Look at this gorgeous sunset He created. A photo can't capture it in its full beauty.
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualitites - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." ~ Romans 1:20
How Great is Our God, indeed.
How Great is Our God, indeed.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Little Good-Byes
I have read tons of blog posts that talk about motherhood as a series of good-byes. This one in particular, by my friend, Sarah, speaks to my heart.
I had my own good-bye moment this morning with my oldest son, who just started grade four. I am typically a very over-protective mother, and I have to work really hard at allowing my kids to step out on their own. If I had my way, my kids would always be with me and I would do everything for them! (I don't do this, but I would if I could!) I know in my head that it is the best thing for them to gain independence and confidence to do their own thing and leave the nest. This summer, in particular, has been about letting go. Adam has gotten very good at riding his bike, and he has a friend who lives down the road from us. All summer, they have been biking around the neighbourhood and going to the park and playing together. This is relatively safe, in my opinion, because we live in a quiet cul-de-sac with not a lot of traffic.
Well, Adam has been begging to ride his bike to school, which would be all well and good for me except that he has to cross a busy intersection on a main road in town to get there. We have done practice runs together, allowing him to ride ahead of us and show us what he would do on his own and how he would cross the busy street. We practiced locking his bike up once he got to school. He is ready. Unfortunately, I'm not!
Well, today was the day. We told him last night that he could ride to school today by himself. He was so excited! Then late last night a news report came out about a young child in our town who had been hit by a car crossing the street at his school yesterday. The crossing lights were flashing, the child had the right-of-way; he did everything the way he was supposed to. Unfortunately, the woman driving the car did not. She was going too fast through a school zone, she wasn't paying attention and she hit this small boy, who fortunately is still alive and recovering.
Of course, this drove me into panic mode as a mama. But I wasn't about to deprive my boy the joy of being independent because of my fears. We had a good talk this morning about making eye contact with the drivers of cars before he crossed the street and making sure he was paying attention to the vehicles to see what they were doing.
And off he went (with me praying the whole time!). I walked his little brother to school several blocks behind him, so I could see how he was doing. And he was a champ. He walked his bike across all the streets. He paid attention at the busy intersection. He arrived to school safely and locked his bike up like a pro.
Still, it's hard to let go and allow my kids to grow up. I know my job as a parent is to prepare my kids to not need me anymore, and this involves a series of small good-byes and letting go little by little. How else will we have strong, independent, confident children who grow into strong, independent, confident adults? These kids are on loan to me for a little while. God has entrusted them into my care for a brief moment. It is my job to train them up in the way they should go and leave them in God's hands and trust Him with them.
I had my own good-bye moment this morning with my oldest son, who just started grade four. I am typically a very over-protective mother, and I have to work really hard at allowing my kids to step out on their own. If I had my way, my kids would always be with me and I would do everything for them! (I don't do this, but I would if I could!) I know in my head that it is the best thing for them to gain independence and confidence to do their own thing and leave the nest. This summer, in particular, has been about letting go. Adam has gotten very good at riding his bike, and he has a friend who lives down the road from us. All summer, they have been biking around the neighbourhood and going to the park and playing together. This is relatively safe, in my opinion, because we live in a quiet cul-de-sac with not a lot of traffic.
Well, Adam has been begging to ride his bike to school, which would be all well and good for me except that he has to cross a busy intersection on a main road in town to get there. We have done practice runs together, allowing him to ride ahead of us and show us what he would do on his own and how he would cross the busy street. We practiced locking his bike up once he got to school. He is ready. Unfortunately, I'm not!
Well, today was the day. We told him last night that he could ride to school today by himself. He was so excited! Then late last night a news report came out about a young child in our town who had been hit by a car crossing the street at his school yesterday. The crossing lights were flashing, the child had the right-of-way; he did everything the way he was supposed to. Unfortunately, the woman driving the car did not. She was going too fast through a school zone, she wasn't paying attention and she hit this small boy, who fortunately is still alive and recovering.
Of course, this drove me into panic mode as a mama. But I wasn't about to deprive my boy the joy of being independent because of my fears. We had a good talk this morning about making eye contact with the drivers of cars before he crossed the street and making sure he was paying attention to the vehicles to see what they were doing.
And off he went (with me praying the whole time!). I walked his little brother to school several blocks behind him, so I could see how he was doing. And he was a champ. He walked his bike across all the streets. He paid attention at the busy intersection. He arrived to school safely and locked his bike up like a pro.
Still, it's hard to let go and allow my kids to grow up. I know my job as a parent is to prepare my kids to not need me anymore, and this involves a series of small good-byes and letting go little by little. How else will we have strong, independent, confident children who grow into strong, independent, confident adults? These kids are on loan to me for a little while. God has entrusted them into my care for a brief moment. It is my job to train them up in the way they should go and leave them in God's hands and trust Him with them.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
A Prayer for All the World's Sons
I came across this blog post today, entitled "A Prayer for All the World's Sons" by Ann Voscamp, and it moved me so much. This is my prayer for my boys.
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"Lord, let there still be a few good men.
"Sure, in the end, there’s a small chance we’d like no rings through nostrils or studs through tongues or ivory plugs through earlobes, but the only mattering part is that he’s pierced by Your love, marked by grace, run through with mercy and one untiring sense of humor. A world tilted as wild as this one needs a little bit more of that.
"May he always know True North.
"And the way to the laundry basket and the stove and wide open big sky.
"Please, Lord, please — only a minimal number of broken bones and emergency rooms?
"But always a heart a bit tender and broken so Your love and light can leak out. May the good lines in the books and the movies always make him liquid a bit, the way poetry can water the hard and forgotten places.
When there are guys trying to score, may he remember that real men win by going last and putting others first.
"May he be one of the real men who are dead to all ladders, who always go lower, to the least and the lonely and the lost. Everyday.
"May he love babies' toes and old ladies and loud laughing and unlikely underdogs and Jesus.
"Make him one of the Real Men braving the Truth — Because if Christ is The Truth — then where there is Truth, there is Christ, and why ever be afraid of the Truth?
"Make him one of those Real Men who knows how to simply say sorry, how to serve without applause, and how to give grace — because Grace isn’t some soft, ethereal notion. Grace is a verb, it’s a noun, it’s a thing, it’s concrete, it’s like air. Just try living without it.
"Make him one of the Real Men fighting injustice — because he knows the peace of Christ.
"Make him one of the Real Men taking peer pressure – because it only makes him stronger in Christ.
"Make him one of the Real Man taking responsibility for his body. Responsible men — are response-able. Make this his job. A woman has her’s. Have him focus on his. Real Men don’t focus responsibility on the women staying “pure” because none of us are pure but focus on the men not pressuring — because no one tries to crush a diamond.
"Let Christ captivate him and not the glossy magazine covers of the Walmart checkout. Because Real Men don’t objectify alluring women. Real Men edify all women.
"Make him one of the few men saturated by the Book, who doesn’t care whether that’s cool or not, because the absolute bottom line is: Unless a man looks to Jesus, a man doesn’t know how to treat a woman.
"May he never stop looking to Jesus.
"May he feel what he feels, may he wear his heart be on his sleeve, may his life plant a million seeds of happiness before he’s planted.
"And may his face always be willing to face the wind, may his knees always be willing to bend, and may every one of his steep inclines, incline him more toward You.
"This world needs to more than a few good men to tilt and lean a lot more wildly like that.
"In the name of the Son who will never leave our sons…
"Amen."
- by Ann Voscamp
Be blessed today, and may our sons grow in the Son and reflect Him in all they say and do.
.JPG)
"Sure, in the end, there’s a small chance we’d like no rings through nostrils or studs through tongues or ivory plugs through earlobes, but the only mattering part is that he’s pierced by Your love, marked by grace, run through with mercy and one untiring sense of humor. A world tilted as wild as this one needs a little bit more of that.
"May he always know True North.
"And the way to the laundry basket and the stove and wide open big sky.
"Please, Lord, please — only a minimal number of broken bones and emergency rooms?
"But always a heart a bit tender and broken so Your love and light can leak out. May the good lines in the books and the movies always make him liquid a bit, the way poetry can water the hard and forgotten places.
When there are guys trying to score, may he remember that real men win by going last and putting others first.
"May he be one of the real men who are dead to all ladders, who always go lower, to the least and the lonely and the lost. Everyday.
"May he love babies' toes and old ladies and loud laughing and unlikely underdogs and Jesus.
"Make him one of the Real Men braving the Truth — Because if Christ is The Truth — then where there is Truth, there is Christ, and why ever be afraid of the Truth?
"Make him one of those Real Men who knows how to simply say sorry, how to serve without applause, and how to give grace — because Grace isn’t some soft, ethereal notion. Grace is a verb, it’s a noun, it’s a thing, it’s concrete, it’s like air. Just try living without it.
"Make him one of the Real Men fighting injustice — because he knows the peace of Christ.
"Make him one of the Real Men taking peer pressure – because it only makes him stronger in Christ.
"Make him one of the Real Man taking responsibility for his body. Responsible men — are response-able. Make this his job. A woman has her’s. Have him focus on his. Real Men don’t focus responsibility on the women staying “pure” because none of us are pure but focus on the men not pressuring — because no one tries to crush a diamond.
"Let Christ captivate him and not the glossy magazine covers of the Walmart checkout. Because Real Men don’t objectify alluring women. Real Men edify all women.
"Make him one of the few men saturated by the Book, who doesn’t care whether that’s cool or not, because the absolute bottom line is: Unless a man looks to Jesus, a man doesn’t know how to treat a woman.
"May he never stop looking to Jesus.
"May he feel what he feels, may he wear his heart be on his sleeve, may his life plant a million seeds of happiness before he’s planted.
"And may his face always be willing to face the wind, may his knees always be willing to bend, and may every one of his steep inclines, incline him more toward You.
"This world needs to more than a few good men to tilt and lean a lot more wildly like that.
"In the name of the Son who will never leave our sons…
"Amen."
- by Ann Voscamp
Be blessed today, and may our sons grow in the Son and reflect Him in all they say and do.
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