Happy birthday, Mom!

To a Mom who has always poured out for others (and mostly us girls!), may the Living Water fill you up fresh for a new year of life! You are an amazing mom and wife and follower of Jesus.

We love you!

DAD:

Always there.

Laughing. Over your forgotten name stories. April Fool's pranks. Family classics. "Don't worry, we're laughing at you, not with you." Til the milk squirts out our noses.

Supporting. On the best and worst days. With time for a cup of coffee, a card, an ear to hear, a hug. You are an oak against whom we all lean.

Helping. Available 24/7. Ready with a fresh tank of gas, tax advice, relationship wisdom, a paint brush. [Banger and twister not included.]

Present. For the basketball practice, track meet, recitals. For ER visits and new babies. For Sunday morning runs and Monday night Bible study.

[You think he's gone? He's never gone.]

You reflect God, who is always there. Thanks.

MOM:

Always giving.

Time. Making homemade bread. The Christmas chain. Saturday waffles and pizza. Good News Clubs and hospital visits. Always time for grandchildren. Costly time, freely given.

Thought. Personal love, making note of preferences. Skim milk and whole. Our own little section of homemade pizza toppings.

Prayer. When you cannot fix it, you pray. Heaven alone will show the mountains that have been moved.

Love. You have never stopped pouring love into our lives, pressed down, shaken together, running over. We have been deeply shaped by your love.

You reflect God, who is always giving. Thanks.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

For several months I have been picking my way through Philippians. Today I'm at the very last verse:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Phil. 4:23)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ."

What is this grace?

I would say it is the grace He purchased dying on the cross for us.

We deserved hell, and the only way God could give us anything better and still be a just God is if the punishment were taken by a perfect substitute.

There was certainly no perfect substitute in this world. Just a planet full of deceivers, self-centered cravers, haters, and comfort worshipers.

So God sent God into the world, His Son, a little, helpless, bloody baby. He didn't get the welcome He deserved. He got the welcome typical of a bunch of self-centered haters and idolaters.

He lived 33 years, not easy years.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Is. 53:2).

He did not catch our eye, since He did not have good looks, a winsome way of spinning popular opinion, or a magnetizing persona. He had God's own perfection--which we found unimpressive and non-compelling.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Is 53:3)

We esteem the charmed life. We love to look at--and covet--those whose fortunes fall to them sweetly. We'd prefer to ignore a tragic story, lest it be contagious and we catch it. If we do notice, we offer one diagnosis: he got what he deserved.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted (Is. 53:4).

Truth be told, He got what we deserved. He joined our broken world and absorbed in Himself all the shards of pain and punishment that should have sliced through us.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Is. 53:5-6)

What a staggering cost for this grace. What an immeasurable purchase.

At the cross, the written record of our debts against a holy God were pinned on Jesus.

And at the resurrection, God blazened "Paid in Full" across that note.

Then the second half of grace comes in.

Where God looks at us cloaked in the cape of Christ's own goodness.

His charity.
His patience.
His zeal for God's name.
His tenderness to the needy.
His gladness.
His humble service.
His loyalty to the Father.
His self-forgetfulness.
His quiet receiving of God's will.
His ceaseless prayer.
His true care for others.
His peace.
His faithfulness.
His self-control.
His tremendous courage.

Applied to us in Christ.

And we are accepted, welcomed in, adopted, granted full access to the throne.

Never treated as we deserve ever again.

Destined for a future of God's matchless power bent toward us for our good, in a demonstration of His glory.

...so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:7)

This is a mighty grace.

And for those in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is with us, to our very heart of hearts.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Phil. 4:23).

Amen.

Vacation in Iowa

Vacation in Iowa was lovely.

Despite the fact that I have about 2 pictures from the week (I forgot to get all the photos from my faithful picture-taking mother...), we had a grand time.

The itinerary:

Thursday- Grammy and Grandad came in time for a late supper at Culvers with us. Lasers arrived around midnight.

Friday- Our 3 vehicles caravanned to Iowa. Auntie Krista rode with us, so we got to have a nice time catching up. After snoozes, Banowetzes came over for dinner and we ate outside on the patio.

Saturday- The 4th of July. Victor and Daddy (and Hudson and Grandad) ran in the Kids' Fun Run. Victor did a great job and had a great time!

We aborted our efforts to eat out for brunch (since everywhere was crazy busy) and instead made a grocery run and created our own very fabulous brunch back at G&G's (pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and strawberry smoothies). In the evening we went to the Ely parade, where the kids all made out like bandits with the parade candy. It was a beautiful evening, a festive atmosphere, and a lovely time together.

Sunday- Josiah was sneezing and coughing, so I stayed home with him so that he could take a morning nap. That effort wasn't real successful though, so we ended up joining the others at church by 10. We had beef carnitas for lunch and a pretty low-key evening.

Monday- Grandad and Ben tried for an early round of golf, but it started thunderstorming after 9 holes. The guys (Grandad, Kevin, Ben, and Brian) did Burgerfries for lunch, and the aunts and cousins met up for a trampoline park adventure. That night Kevin and Ben made supper... a brat bar, homemade raspberry lemonade, a salad bar, and an ice cream sundae bar.

Tuesday- Mom's friend took a serious turn in the hospital, so we changed our plans for the morning so Mom could be with her. The rest of us met at a park for a fun time and a super beautiful day. We had a quick early supper and then the whole crew headed off for Anderson Clan photos. Betsy and Brian did a fabulous job (as always), and they are treasures! (Full photos at the bottom)

Wednesday- Ben and Kevin left for MN (Ben had a Jr High JAM, and Kevin went along for the fun of it.) The others of us headed to Vinton to see Grandma Vaupel and have lunch at Uncle Arlan and Aunt Sue's farm. The kids loved seeing the turkeys, chickens, and kittens, and everybody played and had a great time. (Another gorgeous day.) In the afternoon, Betsy, Brian, Kate, and Ezra, and I headed to a little backyard raspberry patch where we had been invited to pick some raspberries. "Some" as in 11.75 lbs picked in one hour! They were delicious!

Thursday- We drove to Iowa City to explore the Iowa Children's Museum. It was a lot of fun, although we didn't get to see everything! Ben and Kevin rejoined us there. All the mommas and kiddos were deeply relieved to have them back.

Thursday night was a fishing expedition. Everybody had a great cookout dinner (provided by Banowetzes) and then some stayed on for fishing. A beautiful evening.

Friday- The sisters and Mom had lunch together at Mr. Bean's downtown (while the dads had all the kids), and in the afternoon Krista and I had an outing to Half-Price Books. Then all the adults (minus Grammy and Grandad) had a fabulous dinner out at Granite City, while G&G watched the grandkids. It was so delightful! 

Saturday- We headed off early to meet the Anderson extended family for a little reunion in Rochester. We got to meet little Justus CaJuan for the first time and had a lovely gathering in a little Baptist Church there. It was great to see everyone (it's been too long!). From there, our little family headed home.

As is often the case, there were so many sweet things, mingled in with hard things. Mom's friend passed away in the middle of the week. Ezra got a nasty cough. But Victor was healthy and never caught it! Josiah gradually got over his cold too. Time together makes me miss everyone more when we're apart again, but it was a wonderful gift to be there.