18 months old
1 year old
11 months old
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,
Happy birthday, big man! Hard to believe you are now 5 years old!
- You have a 100-watt smile that lights up our lives so much! You are a fellow with a twinkle in your eye, a joyful, creative mind, and a contagious laugh. It is very great when you and your brothers get going with your puns and jokes until you're all laughing uproariously.
- You are still absorbed in the world of trucks. For your birthday you requested some inside trucks. And some outside trucks. And a garbage truck with a dumpster. And a grader and lumpy steamroller... It is very fun that there is a little digging pit under our new deck, since we no longer have the big construction site of our Lexington house.
- You are very sweet to your little sister. I love when you and Jemima are playing together, and you're conscientiously explaining to her what to do and helping her out when something is tricky. I pray that you will continually exercise that kind of strength under God's control as you grow.
- You are very articulate. And have a very clever kind of logic. And you crack me up. For example:
"I have a very big mouth, so I can drink a lot from this kind of small water bottle."
"In my case, Kix aren't sweet because I don't really taste the sweetness."
- You are my fruit and veggie lover. I think you consume more apples, grapes, and cherries per capita than anyone else in the family. In addition, you'll often pass on a cookie or piece of cake in favor of a piece of candy or bowl of ice cream.
- You are wonderful at helping in different tasks and projects. Often you'll ask to help me get lunch ready, and you are great helping to move laundry from the washer to the dryer, putting away the silverware, peeling carrots, and many other jobs. I pray that the Lord will develop that sense of diligence and perseverance as you gain more skills and responsibilities.
- You were so eager to join in with schoolwork like your brothers that I finally broke down and let you start your kindergarten math workbooks, and you went through one and a half of them this spring! You have a bright, inquisitive mind, and we have a new reading book to start together. I'm excited to see all the lights go on as you decipher and decode words for the first time!
- As a family we worked on memorizing Ephesians this year, and it is such an encouragement to hear how much you soaked up. I pray that the Lord sets those words deep in your heart to be an anchor, an illumination, and a sword in the years ahead.
- You are officially an independent bike rider now! You also love swimming and just finished a round of lessons at the Y. You have always been ready to jump in and get soaked without hesitation!
- You love to dress up as a superhero, and frequently Spiderman or Superman will accompany me to the store...
We just wrapped up our memory work in Ephesians (at least for this round!), and I have been thinking about chapter 6. Paul gives quite a substantial word of instruction to bondservants:
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as to Christ, not by way of eyeservice, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will, as to God and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
Those are some pretty strong words for people who were not in an easy position. The call to God's people, even those with no recourse, no options, no appreciation, is the kind of diligent, quiet, trusting-God faithfulness that shows who is really their Master.
The echoes here connect with some preparations I've been making for a Proverbs lesson on work. Why do we work? Just because we have to in order to stay alive? I think there is much more to it.
First, God works. He created all things with wisdom as His master craftsman, and in joy He shaped all that we see in the universe. He rested on the seventh day. And He declared man to be made in His image, blessed with His favor, and commissioned with work of his own.
The Fall adds sweat and weeds to our work, but still we may receive our calling to serve and labor with God's good gifts of rain and fruit woven into creation. When we are faithful in the little, hidden things, we demonstrate trust that God is doing something bigger than we can see right now. We trust His faithfulness to grow simple, unglamorous dirt and seeds into fruit and foliage. And we work in rest, because Jesus ultimately finished His work ... paid our debt, achieved perfect righteousness, made us sons and daughters of God.
And that is who we are, buddy. Our lives are not our own; we have something so big and satisfying to invest our sweat and effort for, like Paul, who (later in Ephesians 6) reminds us that he is an ambassador in chains, in bonds and yet truly redeemed and free.
So I pray that you will see yourself in the right way, not fearing man, not striving for people's approval or easy-won eye-service, but even in the hidden things offering a faithful heart in the service of God, wherever He puts you.
I love you, my Calvin,
Momma
