Delight

My mom called a minute ago to ask if I was familiar with this new voice Hope had found. Oh yes, I am familiar. . . she's got this new, high pitched squeal that she lets out anytime she is happy, which is most of the time these days. Let's not discuss the fact that she took a 2 1/2 hour nap for mom today. I'm not quite sure why she can't sleep that long for me. I keep telling myself it's because she loves to be with mommy and can't stand the thought of sleeping when we could be playing. That sounds about right.

I got to spend the day with my sweet girl yesterday. Mondays are my day at home with her. After her morning nap (which ran short of my expectations of course) I brought her down to the office where I was working and I put her in her bouncy seat to play while mommy typed away. My back was to her but I could hear this constant, excited squeal behind me. I would turn around every few minutes to interact with her and she would kick and wave in delight. I kept thinking to myself, Is it possible that she's even cuter than she was yesterday? Each new day brings a new sound or facial expression or a new level of response to me and Dave. There is so much to treasure right now. I don't want to miss a second of it.

While I want to be fiercely focused on her eating, sleeping and behavioral habits, right now it seems nothing really matters as much as enjoying every sweet moment with her. Who cares if she only sleeps 45 minutes?! It's just more time for me to revel every minute with her!

My Inconvenient Truth

Yesterday I found myself a bit early for a coffee meeting so I decided to run into Publix to pick up a few things. I only had about seven minutes to spare but these days, seven baby-free minutes means a lot so I ran into the store to grab some birthday cards. My seven minutes quickly turned to about thirty seconds and I ran to the shortest line hoping to jet out of there as fast as I could.

Have I ever mentioned that I have the spiritual gift of picking the longest line? Without fail, I always choose the wrong line. This time, I chose the line with a very sweet, disabled man. He was thorough and friendly and kind and. . . did I mention thorough? I told myself immediately that I would be patient and allow this man to serve me the way he desired to serve. Although I hate to be late, I knew that I could not allow a reaction to this inconvenience. The more thorough he got, the more I felt impatience rise up within me and then I simply heard the Lord say, "His inconvenience is far greater than yours." With that I stood there smiling, ready to say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart. He was such a sweet man and you could tell he had a great desire to be excellent at what he did. It was a beautiful thing.

I walked out of there a few minutes late for my appointment but it turned out the girl I was meeting was running late herself. No harm done at all and a really great lesson for me. I don't want to ever think so highly of myself and my schedule that I miss out on appreciating the beauty of God's people. This sweet man was serving with all his heart and I was honored to be on the receiving end. I can only hope to carry a heart like his.

Hope's Dedication

This past Sunday we dedicated Hope to the Lord in the presence of our family and friends. This might sound odd, but this was one of the major events that I had been looking forward to. . . even as I was still pregnant. I just kept thinking about the moment we could stand in front of our church body and thank them for their incredible support while giving the Lord complete glory for our miracle. It was a very sweet time and a great reminder of the journey we had traveled to get us to this point. He truly has done great things for us!

Here's a pic from our special day and a few shots from when we caught Hope reading the other day. I think she's going to be a book worm like daddy!

The Shack

This month I joined the hundreds of thousands of people who have read or are reading the book, The Shack. I have to admit, I was hesitant at first. I'm not usually one to jump on a bandwagon. Actually, I usually avoid all bandwagons as much as possible. And I had heard so many mixed reviews of the book that ran the gamut from some people absolutely praising the work to others questioning its theology. I suppose the main factor that pulled me toward the book was the fact that it is basically the biggest self-publishing phenomenon of the century (I realize we're not all that far into this century, but you get what I mean). As someone who works in the publishing industry, I couldn't help myself but to explore why so many people have been magnetically drawn to this story.

I'm only half way through, but I continue to be intrigued by this little book. I don't want to give too much away but I'll share that the main character encounters the trinity (God the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) at "the shack", represented by three very unique and quirky characters. Do I think it is theologically sound to use a big, black woman named Papa to represent God the Father? Not completely. But I'm lead to ask the question, does that really matter? Surely it isn't the physical make up of God that matters (seeing as how He doesn't actually have a physical make up) but rather how the heart and character of Him are portrayed. I'm sure it's much easier to accept C.S Lewis' character of Aslan as a picture of Christ because a lion has been used to represent God in the Word and beyond.

As I was reading last night, I came to a very tender moment in the story where Mack (the main character) is sitting and talking to Jesus (represented by a Jewish Carpenter named Jesus - not a huge stretch of the imagination). Mack tells Jesus how it's so much easier to talk to him than God (Papa or Elouisa as "she" is also called - let's not get into the gender thing ok?) and the Holy Spirit (an Asian woman named Sarayu). Jesus responds by explaining to Mack that he is meant to be the relational "arm" of the three. He explains that he (Jesus) encompasses all of the best of the character of God and the Holy Spirit and is meant to make those things tangible and relational for people (I am completely paraphrasing here based on what I took away from the text). I'm still chewing on all of the theology involved here but I closed the book and went to sleep with such a tender image of my Jesus. Without over thinking the theology involved, this conversation allowed me to imagine such an accessible savior. . . one that allows the very supernatural nature of God and the Holy Spirit to be right within my grasp. Suddenly, the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit seems a little more real to me.

I figure if this story can open my eyes, it's likely that the eyes of many have been opened to such relationship. And I'm only half way through! Again, I am not saying I agree with every aspect of the method or the story line, but it seems to me this book is simply striking an emotional chord with people who want to see God more realistically. I'm sure many non-believers have picked up this book as well. I pray they will take every bit of truth out of its pages and turn that revelation into a real relationship with Christ.

I'm sure I'll post again before I'm done reading The Shack. But I've been struck so hard already by this book, I just had to share. I recommend anyone picking it up. . . but make sure you read it with an open mind!

Hope Rolls Over!

I have never had so much fun coaching anyone to do anything! Hope rolled over for the first time this weekend. Well. . .she rolled from her back to her side and from her tummy to her back. She's working hard on rolling from her back to her tummy. She's almost there. But boy is she determined. She just keeps trying and she gets so frustrated when she can't do it. Her little arm gets in the way and she can't quite make it over the hump. Here's a little video of her rolling from her tummy to her back. It's progress. . .so we will celebrate it here!