The Throne of Grace

I've been learning about the difference between my spirit and my soul with this book.  I picked it up probably a year or so ago, and then, after reading maybe three chapters, moved on.  Six months ago I picked it up again, and it has shaken me to the core.  At the risk of sounding dramatic, and I like to think I am not, I told Kris that as I began to see and understand the truth in this book, I could see that it was like I had been standing in a jail cell my entire Christian life, never seeing that the cell door had been open the entire time.

The length of all that I've seen and understood through this study is too much for one blog post (and Judah's attention span - as I type he is launching himself off the furniture), but I had a revelation the other day.  I know I've heard this before, but when I "saw" it the other day, it grabbed me and broke off yet one more misconception about how God sees me (and they have been plentiful, but praise God, I am being set free and healed by His truth!).

In Hebrews 4:16, we are urged to "come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in our time of need."  At Bible study two weeks ago, one of our points encouraged us to envision ourselves approaching the throne of grace.  Then the question was posed, "How did you look?"  I knew by the expression on most of our faces that we looked pitiful.  I knew that wasn't right, that's not what the Bible says, but that was how I felt when I thought about me approaching God.  Pitiful, unworthy, broken, hoping for acceptance...like a beat dog.  Not at all bold.

Then I heard the words coming out of my mouth, "Now, let's envision Jesus approaching God's throne.  What does that picture look like?"  Joyful reunion, arms opened wide, God moving off the throne to embrace His Beloved, friends reunited and celebrating their love for one another.

If freedom had a sound, I can only imagine what it sounded like in that room that night.

First Corinthians 5:21 says, "He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."  I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  So, when God looks at me, he doesn't see my brokenness, my willfulness, my selfishness, my imperfection, my sin.  Because He is eternal, He looks at the eternal part of me, my spirit, and sees the perfection of Jesus.  He sees the blood Jesus shed.  He sees His demands of righteousness and true holiness satisfied.

Now when I envision myself approaching His throne, I see joyful reunion, arms opened wide, God moving off the throne to embrace His Beloved, friends reunited and celebrating their love for one another.  I see Him loving and accepting me because when He looks at me, He sees Jesus.

¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Big Boy Bed and Bed Time Update

Monday we broke down Judah's crib and put up the twin bed that came from Kris' sister.  Judah has been sleeping in the crib with one side removed for a while, so we figured he would do just fine.  Which he did.  He did give the bed a funny and then sad look, almost like he was trying to figure out what it had done with his crib.

I, however, was not prepared for how tiny he would look once asleep in that twin bed with his knees tucked under him and his hiney up in the air.  It almost made me hyperventilate, and I (only halfway) joked to Kris that I wanted him to get the crib out and put it back together so I could scoop my baby up and move him to the security of his crib.  Kris asked me if I was serious and then told me to relax.

So TINY!

Honestly, he has slept better this week than he has in a while.  If you'll recall, bedtime has been a bit of a nightmare for months.  We finally resorted to turning the doorknob around and locking him in.  We turned the doorknob around a while back, but it wasn't until recently that we reached the point of such absolute frustration that his hysterical fits when we locked the door didn't split our hearts right in half.  We always still give him at least one or two chances to stay in his bed on his own, but the funny thing is, as soon as we lock his door, he goes to sleep without a fuss.  It's almost like he's saying, "Thank you!  Now that I don't have to try to practice self control I can relax and go to sleep!"  And he doesn't curl up on the floor at the door, which was heartbreaking in itself, now that he has a big boy bed.  He actually climbs right back in his bed.

DNA Discussion

One day a couple of weeks ago we had one of Luke's friends over whose dad is six foot eight.  He's a big boy himself, probably about three inches taller than Luke, even though he's only two months older.  Luke wanted to know why having a tall dad made the kid so much taller than him.  I said, "It's his genes.  He has his parents' DNA just like you have your parents' DNA."

Why do I do this to myself?  I should have known he would not be satisfied with that and would want a more in depth answer.

Luke: "Yeah, but how do we get our parents' DNA?"
Me: "You were in my belly."
Luke (with a long suffering sigh): "I know about DNA, and I know how I got your DNA.  How did I get Dad's DNA?"
Me: "Umm...well...ummm...He kissed me?"
Luke: "Oh, okay."

And then he went back to playing, and I went back to breathing.

Psalm 65:11

"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance."  

Psalm 65:11

Play At Home Mom

This is the most awesome website.  Creative, easy, real.  And, one thing that I really loved is that it includes ideas for babies and toddlers that are not so boring they make you want to gouge your eye out.  I will be trying lots of the ideas on here for cheap/free summer fun.

Play At Home Mom

Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

It's been a while since I've done a book review for Booksneeze.  For the Beth Moore Bible study I did at the beginning of the year we were asked to "sanctify" ourselves by fasting something throughout the duration of the study, and I chose reading novels.  I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it was much more painful than I thought it would be.  I really hope it worked.

I just finished the book Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble.  It is set in the late 1800's in an area of Texas with lots of land but very little else.  The main character, Lucy, has accepted a marriage proposal made by a large land owner on behalf of his son, Nate, in a desperate attempt to provide for her siblings and keep them all together.  Little does she know that the man has more reasons behind his offer than simply providing a suitable wife for his son.

This book was an easy read.  I liked the setting and am always drawn to the strength of the women in that time period.  They had to be resourceful and determined.  There were times in the book that those qualities were a disservice to Lucy rather than an asset.  It made it difficult for her to receive Nate's love when it was finally offered.  By the second half of the book I was actually a little frustrated by her stubbornness.  Maybe that part dragged on a bit for me?  I wanted them to get on with things and just fall in love already!  But at the same time I could see how it applies to many of us in real life.  We can be just as stubborn about receiving love.

Some of the transitions in the book were a little off for me, how the characters would go from one emotion to the next or one difficulty to the next.  And there were a few times when I thought, "Okay, enough with the drama."  Lucy alone was cornered by a wolf-dog, attacked by a nasty ranch hand and bitten by a rattlesnake.  That's before you even mention the other characters and their various problems and aside from the drama of the story in general.

All in all it was a good book, and I would recommend it to a friend.

I was provided with a copy of this book by Booksneeze, but my opinions are my own.

The Easter Egg by Luke

Today is Luke's last day of kindergarten, and he's been coming home all week with all the papers he's accumulated over the year.  It has been fun to see what he's worked on as well as how much progress he's made.  I really hadn't realized how big a difference the year had made in his writing and ability to express his thoughts, but it's pretty stunning.  

This is from the beginning of the year.  The teacher had to decipher what he wrote.

                                                  This is from two months ago.

My favorite thing he came home with was a twelve page story called "The Easter Egg".  I'm not sure if it's finished or over how long of a period of time it was written, but I laughed out loud over several parts.  I don't expect any other person to appreciate this as much as I did, or even to read the whole thing.  But I wanted it saved digitally so that:

1. I can remember how much he made me smile with pride and genuine appreciation for his work. 

and 

2. He can know how much I cherished every accomplishment of his and how much I enjoyed watching him grow.

Plus, I know that I am every bit as bad about going on a "cleaning out" spree as my clutter free mother, and this will surely be thrown away in the heat of the moment.

Grandmothers, you don't get a pass on this; this is required reading for you. :)  If you need it to be larger you can click on the picture.