11 Months Old!

 11 months old!

Note: This shot captured shortly after the shot I missed because I had to catch the baby falling headfirst off the blue chair...

10 months old

9 months old

8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

 
 5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

 2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Calvin,

You are 11 months old! So close to completing your first year! What ever happened to my tiny little baby in the scrawny white onesie?

This month's news:

- You crawl! And it is the sweetest little shuffling crawl you ever did see. You might not stay right where I put you, but if you're going to venture somewhere, it likely will be to come find me. I love it that you still want to hang out with me. Let's keep it that way for a good long while, hmm?

- I haven't noticed any new teeth popping through, but you are drooling, cranky, ill-sleeping, drippy-nosed, and diaper-rashed this week, so perhaps you're working on some good ones.

- Happy places are typically 1) in the Ergo on my back, 2) in your booster seat eating Cheerios, 3) sitting on the floor playing with toys, or 4) exploring all the non-baby-toy articles that are far more fascinating scattered all around. Your brothers continue to be cheerful and persuasive distractions for you, even in your cranky stretches.

- Your favorite words are mamama and dat. Dat. Dat. It's just a chatty, conversational term.

- After crawling, falling over, or flopping onto your belly, you are able to get back to sitting again. Strong boy.

- Remember how mad you used to get at me when I plotted and pushed to get you to take a bottle? Right. Well, a couple weeks ago when I had to take Josiah to the urgency room I couldn't get home by bedtime. So I told Daddy to try warming up a bottle for you, just on a whim. And you slurped the whole thing down with a grin! So how bout that. (I hope that this bodes well for next week when Momma and Dad go away on our retreat!)

- I finally pulled out the 18 month clothes bin. They are not too big.

- You are a Cheerios monster. You'll sit in your chair happily, munching Cheerios for an indeterminate amount of time.



I'm digging into Galatians now, trying to wrap my mind around the thread of insights and arguments that Paul lays out here.

This rings out like a bell:

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 2:16a)

Do you know what that means? It means something huge, something monumental. When we stand before God, we will never find acceptance based on a list of good things that we have done. No, indeed. Instead, we point to Jesus. He's the perfect One! He did all the good, and He paid for all my bad. I trust in Him alone to come to You, Father! Thank You, Jesus, for making the way for me to be with You forever!

Little son, how we pray that you will find Jesus to be your greatest treasure, the One who covers over your sin, the One who gives you a new good heart to walk in His ways.

I love you, Mr. Calvin, my big "two-armsful-of-baby,"
Your momma

What Is God Doing?

God rules over all. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above. He holds all things together by the word of His power. There are no rogue molecules, acting out of order from His purpose or plan. Of course, these truths are the deepest bedrock of joy in all the beautiful moments and gifts of each day.

But sometimes in our weakness, in our suffering and pain, the reality that God is in charge .... that He could change this in a second if He chose ... that He is the hand giving the hardship ... it brings its own temptation to question and wonder. What is God doing, anyway? He says He loves us. He calls us to pray and promises to answer. He says He cares about our cares. So why isn't He doing anything? The suffering itself gets layered with the weight of hopelessness, cynicism, despair.


The enemy would just love for us to take the lie, hook, line, and sinker: This is all totally pointless.

There are plenty of times when we can't actually see what God is up to in the middle of our trial. So let's build an arsenal of evidence, a smorgasbord of possibilities, a pile of reasons to stand in confidence in the middle of the pain.

What might God be doing in your difficulty, your pain and loss, your suffering? Here is a sampling of 31 possibilities from God's word (one for every day of the month!):

1. Starting a new church (Galatians 4:13)
2. Giving an opportunity for someone else to love you like Jesus Christ Himself (Galatians 4:14)
3. Blessing others (Galatians 4:15)
4. Filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, the church (Colossians 1: 24)
5. Producing even greater progress of the gospel (Philippians 1:12)
6. Giving others far more courage to speak the word of God without fear (Philippians 1:14)
7. Multiplying thanks to God by joining together many peoples' prayers for your help and deliverance (2 Corinthians 1:10-11)
8. Comforting and saving others (2 Corinthians 1:6)
9. Helping you learn God's statutes (Psalm 119:71)
10. Helping you keep God's word (Psalm 119:67)
11. Proving that God is with you in trouble (Psalm 91:15)
12. Perfecting you (1 Peter 5:10)
13. Confirming you (1 Peter 5:10)
14. Strengthening you (1 Peter 5:10)
15. Establishing you (1 Peter 5:10)
16. Giving you the opportunity to entrust your soul to a faithful Creator in doing what is right (1 Peter 4:19) 
17. Testing you (1 Peter 4:12)
18. Producing for you an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17)
19. Granting approval so that you may receive the crown of life (James 1:12)
20. Giving endurance (James 1:3)
21. Making you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:4)
22. Protecting you from friendship with the world that would make you an enemy of God (James 4:4)
23. Leading you to prayer (James 5:13)
24. Giving a blessing (James 5:11)
25. Giving you great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12)
26. Saving many, many lives (Genesis 50:20)
27. Allowing you to receive comfort so that you may give comfort to others in their suffering (2 Corinthians 1:4)
28. Proving the foundation of your life (Matthew 7:25)
29. Disciplining you as His own precious child (Hebrews 12:7)
30.  Demonstrating to the watching world that you have a hope that is not based on circumstances or comfort (1 Peter 3:15)
31. Overcoming the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:11)

Stand firm in faith. God is for you. He is working. His hand is writing your specific story in a way that will one day bring our hearts to wonder and worship. One day we will see.

John Teaching

A couple weeks ago, one of our "icebreaker questions" in my middle school small group was, What is the happiest day of your life?

When it was my turn, I found it surprisingly hard to answer. Of course, there are the regular suspects... wedding day, birth of a child (but which one?). But when it comes right down to it, I told the girls, those were all major milestones that ushered in deep joys. But I don't know if I actually felt the joy of it most deeply right then.

It came to me that I think the happiest days I can remember have been either preparing or teaching Bible study.

So, from some of the happiest days of my life:

John 4
John 10
John 13:1-30
John 18