Let the Little Children Come

How children bless the heart of God. He does not see them as interruptions or disruptions, but as a welcome break to his busy day. Even in the middle of Jesus' important kingdom teaching and discipling, He encourages the children to come to him. In fact he uses that incident as a teaching moment for the adults gathered around him. "The kingdom of heaven belongs to children like these," he said. And he took the children in his arms and blessed them. What a tender and beautiful picture. 

In a small way, we were able to identify with Jesus this weekend. We had a welcome break from the busyness of our lives by having 4 children come over. Christy and Christian brought them to our house on Saturday around 12:30 and didn't pick them up until Sunday evening. They took a much needed break and time away. But Andy and I had a wonderful 30 hours with Grace, Aiden, Naomi and Asher.

In the afternoon, we took them to the park and to the church gym.   

 We had a huge box that made a fun plaything.

After supper, we watched a movie, then had ice cream. At bedtime, I read Uncle Remus stories under the "tent" Andy had put up.

On Sunday, we all went to church together, then had our favorite Sunday lunch of waffles and omelets, then went back to the church gym to play. 

When Christy and Christian came back for the kids, we all had dinner together before they left to go home. All in all, it was a fun weekend.

A week or so ago when talking to Amy, she expressed a wish for me to come up and help her sort through her kids' clothes. So her wish was my command and we headed up to see her on Tuesday morning. That gave us the privilege of being with 3 more children for several hours. It's quite gratifying to come to the door and hear children's excitement as they see us. Amy and I worked on organizing kids' clothes and Andy played with the kids. They played outside for a while on the trampoline - it was such a nice day - until they got tired. Then they came in the house and watched some cartoons. Little Katy climbed up beside Andy and fell asleep. 

We ate lunch with Amy and the kids, then left and drove to Christy's. It was Grace's birthday the day before and we didn't feel like we could miss out on celebrating that blessed event. I was able to help Christy by accompanying her to the hair dresser to hold Baby Claire while she got her hair cut. Then I picked up pizzas for our supper. After cake and singing to Grace, Christy put on the Celebrate Good Times cd for dancing.

With all the kid time, I've been thinking how this relates to our relationship with the Lord. They were so excited to see us and spend time with us. Do we value our time with the Lord? And we love our grandchildren and are happy to do things with them and for them. Think how much God loves us and how much he gives us. Of course, he grieves when we disobey, but we are still his children and nothing we can do will turn away his love from us. I feel the same toward our grandchildren. Sometimes one may be out of sorts or grumpy, but that doesn't make me stop loving that child. Even a sad face is cute to a grandparent!

Jesus loves the little children - they are all precious to him.

It's the Little Things

I got my nails done on Monday afternoon.  With the exception of  Dawn’s wedding 8 years ago, it had been 15 years since I had nail polish on my fingernails.  I got tired of always replacing broken and chipped nail polish so I just didn’t bother.  Because of working in dishwater and food preparation, fingernail polish doesn’t last more than an hour or two on my hands.

So last week my neighbor Nancy told me she got this gel nail polish that would last on your fingernails for 2 weeks.  It would not chip or break – guaranteed.  And she even offered to give me the manicure herself. 

So what did I have to lose?  I spent the afternoon with her after work on Monday and now have beautiful hands!  My fingernails look as good today, 3 days later, as they did when first done.  And I like the way they look as I type!

We had a visitor today at the office.  Kira loves to visit her Poppop and me when Dawn drops by.  I keep a little box of toys in my desk drawer and she asks for it nearly every time she comes in.  She also likes to sit at the desk and pretend she’s working on the computer.   

Another favorite thing for her to do is chase Poppop down the hallway and then get him to draw on the white board in the conference room.  She’s so friendly and talks to everyone who happens to be in the office at the time.

She brightens our day.

Grace

I can't believe it but Grace will soon be 11 years old.  Her birthday is coming up next week and in keeping with the tradition we started with the grandkids, they spend overnight and a day at our house.  I like having them one at a time because we can concentrate on getting to interact with them individually and treat them special.  Next week is going to be busy so we scheduled to have Grace earlier.  This past Monday I left work early and drove up to their house and brought her back.  She requested barbeque chicken pizza for dinner and helped me make it.  It was delicious! 

The kids like to watch videos when they're here and I like to sit and watch with them.  The one we chose this time was Anne of Green Gables.  Grace had not seen that movie yet, although she was somewhat familiar with parts of the story.  I believe they have an audio recording of that classic novel.  At bedtime, I read Uncle Remus stories to Grace before we went to sleep.  It's quite humorous to read about the adventures of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, and it's fun to giggle together over their antics.  We slept in the upstairs apartment.  It's so quiet and peaceful up there.

The next morning, Grace and I made blueberry pancakes.  She's a wonderful helper in the kitchen.  While we were eating breakfast, Andy somehow got on the subject of my knowing Pa. Dutch words.  I started teaching Grace some phrases:  "Kannst du micka funga?" and "Mach mi sehr böse!"  Then Andy got in on it and started mentioning words he had heard me say over the years, like "stroblich," "all verhudled," and I'm not sure what all.  (and by the way, I'm not sure of the correct spelling of these words since Pa. Dutch is a dialect of German, which makes it difficult to trace.)  Well, during this conversation, I took a pile of pancakes off the griddle to remove to the table.  In the process, I dropped them all on the floor.  Then Andy, as he is so famous for, had to point out that the pancakes were stroblich.  He loves to get me going by assigning the wrong word to the situation.  Stroblich means messy hair.  So we all ended up laughing hilariously to think that the pancakes were hairy and their hair was messed up.

Speaking of messy hair, I am always happy to do Grace's hair in French braids.  It was one of my favorite things about having 3 girls...lots of hair to braid.

After breakfast, Andy had an electrician here to help him fix an electrical problem that we had lived with for about 5 years.  While he was busy with that, I took Grace shopping for a new dress.  We went to Kohl's and tried on 6 or 7 dresses.  What fun!  And we found one that was just right:  beautiful colors, with a crinoline slip, perfect length and a cute little sweater.  We got the dress for 55% off the original price although I always contend that Kohl's purposefully marks their clothes high so you think you're getting a good deal when they're on sale.

But doesn't she look beautiful?  I'm sorry about the fuzziness of the picture.  I took this with my cell phone, and I'm not very good at holding it super still.


Back at the house, we watched some more of Anne of Green Gables, had lunch, played Free Cell on the computer.  Then Andy took her to the church to ride bikes in the parking lot and play in the gym.

We left our house around 3:30, picked up pizza, then ate dinner with the rest of the family when we got there.  Little Claire is growing nicely.  I got to hold her and love on her a little.

Happy birthday, Grace.  You're growing into a lovely young lady.  It's a pleasure to have you as our granddaughter.

Dangerous Calling

On Friday and Saturday, Andy and I attended a seminar for ministry leaders.  It was held at Church of the Savior in Wayne, PA, with Paul Tripp as the speaker.  Dr. Tripp is a gifted communicator who has written numerous books and speaks around the world, calling people to go heart deep in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The seminar he conducted this weekend was for ministry leaders, including pastors, staff and spouses.  The issues he touched on were challenging and encouraging to us in ministry.  What are the issues that are at the heart of ministry struggle and failure?  What are the protections that need to be built into the life of everyone who is active in ministry of any kind?  How do we assure that the message of the transforming grace of Jesus Christ is not only operating in the lives of those being ministered to, but in the one doing ministry as well?  These are the topics he addressed.

There were 5 sessions:  2 on Friday evening and 3 on Saturday morning.  The sessions were recorded, so when they are released, Andy and I may be on them.  It's always helpful to me to journal through my notes after I've been to a seminar or conference because it helps to solidify in my mind the truths that were presented.

The weekend was titled:  Dangerous Calling:  The Unique Temptations of Pastoral Ministry.  Dr. Tripp gave 2 dangers:  1.  The Danger of Familiarity and 2. The Danger of Arrival.

The danger of familiarity can result in losing our awe of God.  If we see something beautiful on our way to work, for instance, we are overwhelmed at its beauty when we pass by.  However, if we pass that same object every day for weeks, we can eventually pass by that object and not even see it, much less admire its beauty.  We can be in danger of being bored with God.  If God isn't magnetizing me, then something else is.  And this is idolatry.  You can't give away what you don't have.  In Malachi 2:1-9, the priests (ministry leaders) were the ones who received a scathing indictment from God:
1.  You priests don't listen.
2.  You don't give honor to My name.
3.  you have turned aside from the way.
4.  You compromise truth.
5.  You caused many people to stumble.

So what happens if you lose your awe?  You live in fear, mediocrity and become numb.

There are 4 debilitating ministry fears:
1.  fear of me - "I'm so inadequate."
2.  fear of others - people have too much influence on me.
3.  fear of circumstances
4.  fear of the future - it's hard to not know

How much ministry is shaped by fear?  Ministry is war!  Peace is coming, but it's not now!

Mediocrity - how often do we tolerate low standards?
Numb - where do we run for refuge?  To God or from God?

Hope is not a location or situation, but a PERSON!

The Danger of Arrival is forgetting who I am.  A lot of people assume a person is mature if he knows a lot or has a seminary degree or has lots of experience.  But this is a false assumption because maturity is defined by the condition of my heart.  There is no such thing as a grace graduate.  Ministry leaders need the same truth that we preach to others.  We need the humility of approachability and the courage of loving honesty.

Lies of the Fall:  1.  the lie of autonomy.  We were designed to be dependent.  2.  the lie of self sufficiency.

We cannot live in isolation.  Living above or outside the body of Christ leads to being unknown, therefore unprotected.  Self examination should be a community project.  You can't know your own heart, you need to be transparent and allow others to be honest with you.

Ministry in the church is one big glory war.  It's either my ministry or God's ministry and it's hard sometimes to tell the difference because it's still ministry.  But I don't own my gifts and abilities.  They've been given to me for His glory.  I am an ambassador, not the king.  I am representing the King.  I represent His message, methods and character.  I'm called to incarnate the King - make His invisibility visible through my words, actions, thoughts.

Ministry to others is only effective when it is fueled by my own neediness.  I must be communing with Christ.  David in Psalm 27 writes that in the midst of incredible problems, his one request is to dwell on the beauty of the Lord.  That is striking in light of enemies all around him waiting to rid the earth of him.  He doesn't ask God to get rid of his enemies, he asks God to let him gaze on His beauty.

There is a danger of separation, being ok with the difference between my public life and private life.  However, there should be no dicotomy.  What I am in public should be what I am in private with my family.  I need to be real.

So what's the solution?  1 Peter 5:6-11

1.  Know my place - humble before God.  It's not about me, it's about Him.
2.  Rest in God's care.  Cast all my anxieties on Him because He cares for me.  Embrace the realities of God's care even when I can't see it.
3.  Take the war of ministry seriously.  The devil is seeking to devour me.
4.  Resist no matter what (the devil and evil) and don't give up.
5.  Trust God's sanctifying grace.

I serve the Redeemer - He will not relent until the work is complete.

Birthday & Valentine's Day

I’m another year older since my last blog. I admit that I don’t like to think about how old I am. I really don’t know why. How can I help how old I am? It’s one of those things that is out of my control. And what does it really matter? I feel great and everyone tells me I don’t look my age. (I always wonder at that, though, because if I don’t tell how old I am, how can people truthfully say I look younger than I am? Maybe they’re just feeding my ego!)


Andy got lots of points in my book this week because he really splurged on my birthday AND Valentine’s Day. I felt very loved.

We left work early on Monday afternoon, my birthday, heading up to Lancaster County to our favorite guest house: Walnut Valley. We got there early enough that we decided to stop by and see Amy and the kids before going to dinner. I called her to make sure she was home, so they knew we were coming. When we got out of the car at their house, we could hear the excitement of the kids even with all their doors and windows closed. What a warm reception! They had been making valentines for their daddy but because we stopped in, we also got one. Joanna was really into the hearts and was peeling the sticky backs off them and putting them all over us. I think at one point, I had about 10 hearts all over my sweater. Unfortunately, I forgot to take our camera so I have no photographic memories of our time there.

We ate dinner at Applebee’s in Ephrata. I was very good and ordered a salad. But when I finished, I was still hungry. So I had to finish the dinner with a piece of strawberry cheesecake. Well, after all, it was my birthday! Does that justify my splurge?

The next day we had tickets to see a show at the Rainbow Theater. It was a dinner theater but we went to the matinee showing. So we had a delicious meal at 12:00 noon, then the show. It was a murder mystery comedy: Let’s Murder Marsha. Laughter is good for the soul, and a merry heart is good medicine.

A fun interlude in our routine.

Change is the Only Constant!

Some time ago we had to rip the canvas roof off the swing set because it was falling apart and blowing in the wind.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided to investigate replacing that roof (what made me wait so long???).  So off I went to Joann Fabrics.  I just happened to get there on the day they had a 50% off sale on all their canvas fabrics.  How timely.  So I bought enough to make a new roof for the swing set.  What do you think?  

 

I was amazed at how little I ended up spending to put a finishing touch to the play area for the kids.

Another change involves a dear friend of mine who recently went into business as an interior decor consultant.  I asked her to come to my house and give me some ideas on things I could do to add some interest to my living room, dining room and kitchen areas.  She offered a number of suggestions and ideas, some of which will be on future blogs.  However, one of the things she suggested was to put some color on the lamp shades in the living room.  That cost all of $2.00 to buy a spool of grosgrain ribbon and that little amount of effort added a lot of pizzazz to our living space.

Before:

After:

Another change that needed to be taken care of was a huge maple tree we had by the side of the house.  Almost seven years ago when we put in the driveway to the in-law addition, Andy warned me that all that blacktop was not going to be good for the tree.  But I was insistent I didn't want it taken down at that time.  It was not only a beautiful tree, it also had fond memories for the family.  Andy built a tree house for the girls when we first moved here and they played in it for hours.  They would climb up with a pile of books and spend hours reading in the solitude up there.  They also rigged up ropes and pulled up all kinds of treasures, including our little Yorkie.  I caught them pulling her up in a bucket.  Fortunately, I did catch them before she got too high up in the air and was able to persuade them that it wasn't a good idea, especially since the dog looked like she was considering jumping out.  And that tree house was very high up off the ground.

But I digress...So in the last couple of years, we've noticed the tree did not have many leaves each summer.  Then it developed mushrooms growing out of it, an indication that the tree was dying.  Christian, our expert tree guy, kept his eye on the tree whenever he came over, and we finally decided it was time to take it down before it fell on the house.  When a date was decided for him to do the job, I thought it might be a good excuse to have the whole family over.  I had been given a 20 pound turkey at Christmas time and it was taking up room in my freezer.  So there was another good reason for inviting the family to join us.  


Christian got here around 9:00 am on Saturday morning.  He brought the truck, all his climbing gear, several chain saws, and the stump grinder.  He cut the branches and dropped them, then Dawn and Andy cut them into smaller pieces and dragged them to the street.  Christian is quite amazing to watch up there doing his work.

The tree is gone (sigh) and all at the street.  Thankfully, our township will come by and take everything away.  I guess that's why our taxes are so high!

Christy arrived with the kids around 12:45 and I fed them, plus the tree workers, lunch of minestrone soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Christy then helped me update the look of my blog (so if you notice any changes, thank her!) and did a few other things on the computer.  She taught me a couple of tricks and I actually showed her something, too!  

I put the turkey in the oven at noon.  Mid-afternoon all the others started arriving.  And then it began.  I thought I had organized everything and was prepared:  start the stuffing at 2:30, start the pineapple casserole at 3:00, etc.  But things got pretty intense with everyone arriving and greetings and hugs.  Grace started peeling potatoes, and that was enjoyable:  working side by side with her in the kitchen.  Everyone else pitched in and helped.  Tommy and Ricky set up the tables in the dining room, including putting in the extensions and bringing up the extra tables from the basement.  They put the plates and silverware on, then helped with the drinks and napkins and reaching the serving bowls on the top shelves for me!  We were ready to sit down and eat by 4:45 (only 45 minutes later than the original plan).  It was quite a spread:  turkey and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes (made by Dawn), mashed potatoes (made by Grace), pineapple casserole, corn and applesauce (brought by Amy), homemade rolls and strawberry jam (made by Amy).  What a feast.  

Then it was time to celebrate 4 birthdays.  Asher had been 4 on January 31, Dawn had her birthday on February 3 and Christy and I have February birthdays too.  Christy's is on the 11th and mine is on the 13th.  It was a pretty awful birthday song with Tommy and Ricky purposefully singing off key (they do it on purpose to irk the Wallins' musical sensibilities!) and singing happy birthday to Asher, Dawn, Christy and Grammy all at the same time.  

And of course, with birthday celebrations, there needs to be a cake.  I had made the carrot cake the day before and it was so good and moist.  I have to admit, though, that it probably would have tasted better if I had not already been so stuffed.

I didn't realize till too late that I didn't get any pictures of the family dinner and party time.  It's somewhat difficult to concentrate getting all the food ready at just the right time with a camera in hand.  I usually depend on Christy or Amy to do the picture taking, but Christy had forgotten theirs.  I think Amy took some pictures but by the end of the evening, the kids were tired and not too eager to sit still and smile for pictures.  

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

As difficult as it was to go through the experience of losing our first born baby, imagine our joy when one year later (and it was a very long year), I gave birth to our little daughter, Christy. February 11 is her birthday and what a day it was. Our mourning turned to gladness and God gave us comfort and joy instead of sorrow (Jeremiah 31:13) when we looked into that beautiful newborn face. We felt God's loving embrace as we held that sweet baby. Two years later, on February 3, God blessed us with another daughter, Dawn. And another 2 1/2 years after Dawn, Amy was born on August 24.

It's funny how expert a young couple can feel toward parenting before they actually have children. But that expertise quickly turns to feelings of inadequacy and total dependence on the Lord when reality hits. I remember many times crying out to God as King Jehoshophat did: "Oh Lord, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (2 Chronicles 20:12). And in desperation, I often reminded God of His promise to give wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). Dealing with little people like us, with sin natures and selfish hearts, is more difficult in reality than all the parenting theories ever thought of or written about.

Our parenting years had ups and downs, joys and sorrows, hard times and good times. I feel so blessed that God was with us every step of the journey. He promised to never leave us and He kept that promise. All of our daughters are now in their 30's with beautiful families of their own, learning life's valuable lessons as they raise their children to know and love God. Raising children helps us grow and mature in our own walk with the Lord. When we teach our children to share, we realize how selfish we are. Or when we preach to them about having the right attitude toward others, we are convicted about how critical and self-righteous we are. But that's the beauty of parenting. We learn that we cannot live the Christian life. Only Jesus can and we need Him living through us in the power of the cross and resurrection in order to be like Him.

Even though our children are raised, we continue to parent. As long as we continue to live, our prayer is to be an encouragement and support to them. And we're in a very good spot right now because we don't just have children, we now have grandchildren! Our hearts are full and our house is, too, when they're all here with us.

Words that come to mind to describe each daughter are:
Christy: strong, in charge, capable, compassionate
Dawn: loyal, loving, focused, steady, talented
Amy: fun, flower-child, lover of nature and the outdoors

Each one unique and special in her God-given gifts and abilities

[We] have no greater joy than to hear that [our] children are walking in the truth. (3 John 4)