Shepherding a Child's Heart

A dear friend from high school and college, Sarah, sent us a gift several weeks before Caleb was born. In it were two very thoughtful gifts. . . a hand made quilt (which was quite a feat considering she's living in Germany right now and has limited access to fabric since quilting isn't popular over there) and a parenting book by Tedd Tripp entitled Shepherding a Child's Heart.

In the busyness of the first few months of motherhood, I forgot about the book. However, about 3 weeks ago, I discovered it in my nightstand and started reading it. I was tempted to gobble it up, as the content was so engaging, however, I forced myself to take it slowly, so that I could absorb its godly, biblical perspective.

Tripp does an excellent job of focusing on the main goal of Christian parenting, namely the goal of training up children to fulfill their God-given purpose in life which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It is more than just behavior modification, more than just bringing up well-mannered, moral, "good" kids. Christian parenting is about bringing our children to an understanding of their deep need for Christ. It is about helping them learn how to humble themselves before an awesome, almighty God and to embrace His grace and mercy in their lives, through training and example. It is about teaching them to love God and serve others with joyful hearts.

And, it is a task that cannot be accomplished without the intervening grace of God. There is no fool-proof formula. It is a matter of daily dependence upon Christ. It is about kneeling WITH our children at the foot of the cross and pleading for mercy.

Sitting Up!

Caleb has been able to steady himself on our laps pretty well for a few weeks now, but I was still surprised to find that he was able to sit up for over 10 minutes tonight without tipping!

What a big boy!

Modern Day Slavery

My friend, Christianne, recently attended the William Wilberforce Conference with her husband. What she brought back was a passion to see modern day slavery end. It is hard to believe that there are millions and millions of people TODAY who are slaves. Even harder to grasp is the fact that many of them are children. Christianne posted information regarding this issue on her blog and I would recommend you visit her site.

Also calling attention to the issue of slavery, is one of the ministries that Josh and I support, Voice of the Martyrs. In this month's newsletter, there was an article about a young Christian girl who was a slave on a Muslim brick kiln in Pakistan. When it was discovered that her mother and she were Christians, the slave owner punished them. The mother was raped and murdered and the girl was forced to be a concubine of the manager of the kiln. She was only 14 years old. For several years she was violated by this older Muslim man who then arranged a marriage to her against her will. Voice of the Martyrs learned of her story and, the day before the wedding ceremony was to take place, they purchased her freedom for the price of $1100 (US). They pulled her out of the kiln and moved her to another part of the country to live with a Christian family. This story really stirred me. It is unfathomable to me that a human life could be measured in dollars. And, only $1000 at that.

Pray for Voice of the Martyrs and other ministries, like the ones Christianne mentions on her blog. Pray that as the Gospel of Christ imparts life and freedom from the bondage of sin, the children of Christ will fight for life and freedom from physical bondage.

Flashback to 3rd Grade

Lately I have taken a re-liking to Nesquik and Cheerios. . . not together, of course. I don't know what it is about that powdery chocolate drink, but I love it! And the "unsinkable taste of Cheerios" brightens my morning.

I may be 28 but with a bowlful of Cheerios and a tall glass of Nesquik, I feel like I'm back in 3rd grade!

Minding the Gap

Traveling pants and other international novelties.

Caleb isn't exactly a world traveler (yet), but he has friends and relatives who are.

Uncle Dan visited the UK just a few weeks after Caleb was born and brought home a "Mind the Gap" onesie. Amazingly, Caleb is now big enough to wear it (it looked SO BIG when I first saw it)!

Aunt Yvette just got back from Italy two days ago and gave Caleb a marionette (not pictured) and an illustrated version of Pinocchio in Italian. Caleb absolutely loves books and doesn't seem to care that I can't speak a lick of Italian.

And, I visited the mall today and bought Caleb a pair of red pants at BabyGap. Believe it or not, said pants were actually made in China. So, although neither Caleb nor I have been to Asia, his pants have.

Happy Four Month Birthday Baby Boy!

Caleb John and the Three Pairs

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Caleb John. He was planning a trip to the beach so he wanted to get some sunglasses.

First he tried on Papa's pair, but. . .

. . .they were too big!


Then he tried on Mama's pair, but. . .

. . .they were too square.

Then he saw Baby's pair. He tried them on and. . .

. . .they were just right!

And he lived happily ever after.

Comment moderation is off!

I got the email addresses I was hoping for. You may once again post without Big Brother (or, in this case, Big Sister) watching.

Mmmmmmmm. . . Rice Cereal

We had Caleb's 4-month (almost) check-up yesterday and the doctor said we could start Caleb on rice cereal as soon as he showed signs of being interested. We were pretty sure the voracious rooting even after a full nursing session was a pretty good clue that he might be interested in "real food."

So, today I picked up some organic* rice cereal and we gave it a whirl. It was a hit!

*Josh and I don't eat organic, but I'm not opposed to the idea and figured that since Caleb's system is just starting out, I'd try to go for as natural as possible. . . at least for now.

Caleb wasn't quite sure what to do with that first spoonful.

By the 3rd spoonful, he was a happy pro. Only one problem. . . it's hard to smile and eat at the same time!

Down to business. Daddy was worried more about speed than accuracy!