This season also reminds us of the undeserved love God has shown to each of us. While reading through Isaiah, we're reminded of God’s initiation of love toward us. One of those passages says “’Come now, let us reason together’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’” How amazing it is to be reminded that God first reached out to us. When we “find” Him, we are reminded that even though we were the ones who were lost, He never gives up on us.
Here’s an update on our family, starting with the smallest….
Iva (3) has turned into the comedian of the family. Her funny one-liners and silly facial expressions always provide moments of levity. She has turned into an animal lover - both real and stuffed and keeps about 20 animals on her bed – all of whom have names and individual personalities (as improvised by Iva). She is our first and only child who has never been afraid of real dogs or any animal. She usually ends up chasing them around rather than vice versa. Iva loves to give out hugs and is always eager to cuddle with anyone willing to read her a book.
Lucie (5) has loved her first year in kindergarten. She is always an eager student and puts great detail into her writing and artwork. “Little Lu” is the most likely to make friends wherever she goes. She often come back from church or co-op saying “I met a new friend today”. She is never at a loss for meeting new people and sharing her contagious smiles. She is thoughtful and sensitive. She also loves any kind of crafts and looks forward to church and co-op for this reason.
Silas (8) continues to hone his engineering and chemistry skills in all he does. He always wants to figure out how things work. His creations usually involve flight, and he makes good use of any resources he can find. He loves to experiment with any new ideas he comes across. He’s enjoyed basketball and baseball this past year. Over the summer, he and Todd went on their “manly man” campout, where they built a homemade hovercraft – definitely a highlight! He is also loving piano and is very talented, creating his own songs and sounding out new ones.
Molly keeps trying to squeeze every ounce of joy out of all the varying entertaining personalities of the kids, knowing they grow up fast. Savoring each moment brings both laughter and tears as life with five is both hair-pulling-crazy and delightful. As Jen Hatmaker says, "The baby years are short, kind of like five minutes…underwater." Toddler years would also apply. Despite having children in diapers for the past 11 years, knowing that these years truly are short causes her to slow down and take time to enjoy Iva's funny little speeches, kiss Vivien's sweet cheeks, listen to Lucie's thoughts and make sure she has time for good conversations with the older ones before bed. At the same time she knows she is better mom when she has some quiet moments to write, exercise and think, finding that these are the times when she hears Jesus the most and relishes them. She has spent more time writing lately and finds that the hours go by quickly when she is putting ideas on paper Thanks to Todd and the grandparents, alone time, as well as some girlfriend time to catch a rare play or dinner can actually happen occasionally. She enjoys date nights with Todd (and usually Viv) about twice a month and is often found scheming up elusive travel plans and dreams. She is attending a women's' Bible Study at church twice a month as well.
We have started to attend Highlands Community church in Renton and appreciate the Biblical teaching, the faithful believers who are rooted in their faith, the close proximity to our home, as well as lots of opportunities for the kids to be involved. Our children are thriving there and if they ever have to miss church or any activity at Highlands because of sickness, tears usually follow. We are grateful for where God has placed us right now.
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| Gran's 100th Birthday! |
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| Vancouver |
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| Seaside! |
At this time last year we felt like we were barely hanging on, figuring out life with 4 kids plus a special needs baby. As we said before, sometimes life gets so busy that you feel like instead of daily asking "what should I do next?" we are asking "what should I neglect the most?" Living life this way often brings feelings of guilt and inadequacy, as if we were living irresponsibly.
We are learning that sometimes we make life harder on ourselves by thinking we have to be responsible in areas that Jesus may not be giving us as "burdens" or "yokes". Instead, we compare ourselves to others or take on things because of others' (and more often) our own expectations, rather than because Jesus is actually asking us to carry those burdens. It is so easy to believe the lies that our hands are tied and we have no choices or that we must do a certain thing because we think it's right when it is actually not something Jesus is asking us to do. This is actually pharisaical thinking. Mt 23:4 "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders."
We are learning to let things go and ask the Holy Spirit what is most important for our family and what is just pride and self-sufficiency. This involves understanding our limitations as well as our gifts, creating time and space for margins for things we love to do and letting go of things that we don't. It doesn't mean that we don't work hard or do hard things. But it means we evaluate our life based on the callings and gifting that the Holy Spirit has given us personally instead of looking around at what others are doing and feeling guilt or comparison. It means evaluating everything and asking Him, "is this something You are calling me to do, or is it just an expectation I have for myself?" Even asking, "Do I enjoy this? Do I have alternatives?" is part of learning this wisdom.
When we feel "stuck" as if we have no choices or no way out we need to step back a bit. Sometimes He allows us to be in a difficult place for a season. If the burden and yoke seem too heavy to bear and we know Jesus has called us to it, we may not be receiving the grace that He is giving us to carry that burden or receiving the gift of His presence to bring us through it. But other times when we feel the burden is too heavy - it is because it is! It isn't His design for us to carry it. He may actually be allowing us to feel "stuck" because He wants us to re-evaluate what we are doing and think outside the box. As our focus is listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit about our calling, gifts and joy, we are learning let go of burdens. Again this doesn't mean that we don't do hard things or that there are no burdens or yokes. But it does mean we understand that He will give us grace for the burdens He has called us to while realizing value of throwing off ones He has not.
Abundant life sometimes feels like an overused phrase in Christian circles. Yet these are Jesus' words not ours. Sometimes hear something so often that we choose to waive it away or dismiss it. He said He came to this earth to give us LIFE. Not just regular life but life to the full. Abundant means, "over and above, more than is necessary superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon".
We celebrate Jesus life and the life He has for us, this season with you.
Merry Christmas!
Much Love,
Todd, Molly, Maggie, Silas, Lucie, Iva and Vivien
PS - Enjoy the pictures of our 2015 in the post below!
