Sharing the moment...Again.

I'll be gone for the next week!!! When we made the same trip last year Seth was 18 months old and Josh was 4 months old. This year Seth will be 3, Josh 23 months old and Elijah 6 months old. What fun. Seth and Josh will also be seeing sharks in real life for the first time and I'M SO EXCITED!!

Enjoy seeing this video from our trip last year!!]

The Boys @ 6 Months

 

Wordless Wednesday

Not that I believe in these things!

Not that I believe in fallacies but this I thought was  interesting!!


We named Elijah after the person in the bible named Elijah.  We know nothing of his bloodline.  He appears in scripture confronting a king with boldness.  In the process he tells the king it would not rain for 3 years.  When the 3 years are up sure enough Elijah prays again for it to rain and it does. Elijah never dies a physical death but is taken up into heaven by chariots.  He was a righteous man of God. He was also an outcast.


My little Elijah was born in his amniotic sac.  Apparently this is rare.  Yesterday one of my online friends mentioned that that means he’s really, really lucky.  When Elijah was delivered my doctor repeated a few times that Elijah was going to be rich because he was born in his amniotic sac.  When I read up in amniotic sack births there was something interesting I did come across.  They said that it is possibly hereditary. My grandmother and mother were born in their sacks.  They said that they would be social outcasts.... that lining up with the Elijah of the bible and this one was freaky... they have an ability to find water...just like Elijah of the bible.  


This was strangely coincidental but I still don't believe in it!

Wordless Wenesday

It's all about ME

"Its all about ME" is one of the most successful lies we as Christians have bought into.

It's NEVER about YOU but ALWAYS about GOD.  Everything is to change you from the shattered image of sin to the perfect and complete picture of Him.  Don't deceive yourself into believing that if you have had a long day of pouring yourself out into another’s life that you are entitled to "do something for ME".  You are entitled to SERVE.  You are entitled to EXHAUSTION.  You are entitled to give more even when you feel like you cannot.  We have become a people that have a "love of ease".  The quicker and easier the better.  In exchange for the simpler, better, faster way we give up stability, security, quality, time and peace.  We become consumed with greed, gluttony, self preservation and "me time".

God haters have fed us this lie over and over again and we have savoured the taste of this lie every time. 

We DO NOT know GOD.  

We are constantly looking for the quickest way to "know" God.  We are constantly stripping away the fullness of sustaining satisfaction in God because we want to get to the things that WE want to do. We are brushing aside the fulfilment of time spent on lasting things for the instant gratification of self.  To know God takes consistent time.  Investing your time in His prized word will yield benefits that enable us to see God,  His truth and apply it.  God shaped Joseph over 22 years before he was ready to be a leader worthy of God.  It was 22 years of Joseph yielding himself to God.  It took time.

We feel so entitled when someone does us wrong to go and confront them.  We live in a culture of instant communication.  If you want to chat with someone you can IM, SMS, Facebook, Skype, pick up a cell phone, e-mail, etc  If we are angry we can get hold of that person instantly and "let them have it".   How much damage is done because we don't know how to think anymore?  After all, we've bought into the lie that we are ENTITLED - we have rights and God protect the person who dares infringe on ANY of these at ANY time because the wrath of God would not even compare to what you will do.  You will put that person in their place, you will protect that right regardless of the consequence even if it could be a sinful right. What a self-centered people we've become because of our "ability" to communicate. We have also bought into the lie that we must “let it all out and then we'll feel better”. A wise man counts his word and a foolish man speaks ad nauseum.

WE DO NOT KNOW GOD

If we knew God, would we be so ready to embrace pop psychology?  The world tells us that our children are not capable of understanding their own behaviour but are fully capable of resolving a dispute properly.  We are told by the world that we do not love our children if we set boundaries or create predictable consequences of choice.  We are told that we are bad parents if we forbid sexual activity at any age.  We are told we are bad parents if we allow our children to indulge in the debauched behaviour of homosexuality.  The sin of homosexuality was one of the reasons why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.   We are told that if we discipline we are going to estrange our children from ourselves and that our children will not communicate with us or they will hold a grudge.  We are also told we can discipline too much.  We are told that we are over protective if we choose to protect our children's hearts and minds from inappropriate visual stimulation.

When God sees sin he doesn’t excuse it.  In the old testament if a child said the Lords name in vain, the child was to be taken outside the camp and stoned. Proverbs speaks of a parent that doesn't discipline their child as a parent who hates their child.  God tells us that we are to use a rod when correcting our children.  A rod is referring to a wooden implement.  God is exact and he expects exact obedience from us and we as faithful parents are to expect exact obedience from our children.  Our God DOES NOT tolerate sin so why should we because the world says we should?

If we knew God, would we be so casual about letting another day go by without finding opportunity to tell our children of God's great love for us by sending HIS only son to die for us? If we took the time to think of hell (eternal damnation and punishment), we would not be able to go another day without shedding tears that, that is where our children are destined for  if they don't receive new hearts from God.

But you see we don't think like that, instead we think that children can't really be saved at a young age because they don't have the "understanding" of what salvation is.  Christ said, “suffer the little children to come unto me”.  He encourages us to be simple like little children in our faith.  What do they need to know.  They need to know that they are sinners from the day of conception and only the perfect blood sacrifice of Christ - God's son - can forgive them and give them the new heart. It is our responsibility to teach them everyday in everything we do how to be true children of God.  DON'T LET ANYTHING BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH YOUR CHILDREN, IF THEY DIE THEY WILL GO TO HELL.

If we knew God, would we be so eager to be better (in our own eyes) than our husbands. I CRINGE when I see a woman speak to her husband with disdain.  I sink down in SHAME when a woman belittles or strips her husband of his dignity by complaining about him.  Submission is beautiful when God is the focus and not the husband.  Remember God LOVES YOU, because he loves you he is doing what is best for you and that includes putting you with a man  he will  use to shape you into the woman he wants you to be.  My husband is my  prince and I will clothe him with respect, love and honour. I will not disrobe myself by selfish desires, hateful  and angry speech or an “it’s all about me” attitude.

The boys @ 5 months

Wordless Wednesday #2 (The ant lived even after all this!)

Wordless Wednesday#1 (Moments)

Wordless Wednesday

At 5 Months You...

still chew on your thumbs (sometimes your entire fist)

still have a jigg with your leg when you’re hungry

love being on your tummy and push forward with your legs 

but

can't quite get your arms to work with your legs

smile at just about everyone that speaks to you

are not keen on being held by strangers

love watching your hands

hate being board

are VERY talkative

cry only when you are hungry, overtired or have been hurt

have a really cute "wine" when you are not happy to be laid down

sleep through but wake at around 3am if you are cold

wriggle fiercely when you watch your brothers play

have fallen off of your change table twice but have landed on something soft every time so you think it's funny

still don't seem to “get” Peek-a-boo

love the sound of a plastic packet

love batting things and do it so well

watch us eating intensely

can sit for a short while at a time

love bright, high contrast things

try to mimic the sound of your toy frog

love water

were sick recently and lost 1.2 kg's in a week

had ears that were so flat against your head when you were born that they didn't have that top curl 

but now

they stick out...I think its cute...you look like a pixie or elf to me.

still spit up but not as bad as it used to be

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE open mouth kisses...I cannot make the kissing sound without you opening your mouth WIDE to get the kiss

have a very tight grasp...people often comment on it and in the African culture they believe the grip of a baby represents the health of the baby...you must be super human then!!

are starting to exchange toys from one hand to the other

still hate loud noises

still love being sung too....you love it so much that you actually sing yourself to sleep sometimes...too cute 

you love listening to my heartbeat

are a very hot and sweaty baby

look good in dark solid colours

your eyes are hinting to change from blue to green

love books

have watched some of "Horton Hears a Who" and seemed to like it

enjoy bathing so much that when you kick in the water is splashes your face

have not pooped in the bath

arch your back when you want to be picked up

when you sit you fall over to your left mostly

are awake for 2 hours between naps 

nap for about 1-2 hrs at a time

have an over active mind that sometimes stops you from sleeping

have a long torso

are becoming a blond

have fair skin

are such a precious gift and I love you!!

The Boys @ 4 months

 

Wordless Wednessday