Leah

We have been doing an Advent reading plan with Eva using The Jesus Storybook Bible.  I really just can't say enough about this little Bible.  It is so great.

Here is my favorite quote from our first day of reading:
"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do.  The Bible certainly does have some rules in it.  They show you how life works best.  But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing.  It's about God and what he has done."

I wish everyone could grasp that.  I pray that my children grasp that as they grow.  God is not some entity up on a throne in Heaven shaking his head every time we mess up.  Because in His eyes, our debt has already been paid.  His love is perfect and does not hinge on our ability to follow rules perfectly.

But that's not really what's been on my heart.  All of the above was just a bonus. :)  What has really been on my heart is Leah.  You know, Leah, she was the ugly sister. Poor girl.  The oldest girl of the family.  The one whose own father figured he could never marry her off without some trickery.  And if she couldn't get married then beautiful daughter number two couldn't get married either.  So dad tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, even though he thought he was marrying Rachel, the one he loved.  (Feel free to start reading in Genesis 29 if you would like to have the non-paraphrased version :). )

And we find out in Genesis 29:30 that "...he loved Rachel more than Leah."

How awful would it be to go through life knowing that your husband didn't love you?  Knowing that you were the ugly one?  The one no one wanted?  I can't imagine the pain that Leah must have lived with.  Always hoping that maybe her husband's heart could change.

But verse 31 tells us that God saw that Leah was unloved.  But God loved her.  And he wanted to show her, so he allowed her to have a baby.  And all you mamas know that there are few things in life more precious than the love you feel for your child... but beyond that, in those early years, little ones love no one else like they love their mama.  It is exhausting at times to be loved that much, but it's just so precious.  It was her special gift from a God who loved her.

As I was thinking about Leah, I was reminded that not only did God allow her to have children, he allowed one of those bouncing baby boys to become the lineage of His Own Son!

Stay with me on this rabbit trail for a second, if you will. Leah named her first son Reuben which means "Look, a son!" and the Bible tells us that she hoped that with the birth of the son that Jacob would love her.

Son #2 was named Simeon saying "The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son."
Son #3 was named Levi saying, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"

But apparently Jacob didn't magically start loving Leah after 3 sons (while Rachel remained childless).

Catch this, though, Leah then became pregnant again and had another son whom she named Judah.  Judah means "praise", and she said after his birth "Now I will praise the Lord!"

Sometimes in the depth of our pain, God just asks us to praise him.  And when we do?  Well amazing things can happen!  Judah ended up becoming the great-great-great-(a lot of greats)- grandfather to Jesus!

I'm so glad that we have a God who loves us, not with a far away kind of love, but with a "I see you" kind of love.  Thank you God for being the "God who sees" us (Gen. 16:13).

Rocks and Manners

Yesterday we had our first incident of having an object stuck in a nostril.  It was fun.  I was on the phone with Ryan and was about to try to figure out how to get Eva from school and get Eli to the doctor to get the object removed, when Eli started sneezing... and sneezing... and sneezing.  And then, out flew a big rock from his nose!  I'm pretty thankful that we did not end up making a trip to the pediatrician just to have that removed.

Every month at Eli's school, they work on a character trait and for the month of November, they worked on being polite.  So his manners, which were already pretty good, have gotten exceptional.  It is the funniest thing to us.  He went from the simple "Please" and "thank you" to things like "excuse me" and "Nice to meet you,".

Which brings me to my next Eli story:  This weekend we were out running errands and the boys had reached their limit of cooperation.  I told Ryan to run into the last stop real fast while I kept the boys in the car.  It was unseasonably warm, so we were sitting in the parking lot with the windows down and Eli's sliding door was open.  As we waited, a worker from the store came out to collect the shopping carts from the return next to where we were parked.  As he walked up, Eli said, "Um, excuse me. Whatcha doin'?".  The guy looked at me and asked what Eli had said, when I told him, he just laughed and then explained to Eli what he was doing and asked Eli if he wanted to help!

Then, at church on Sunday, we were walking through the halls and Eli started telling every person we passed, "Hi!  Nice to meet you!  Hi!  Hi!  Hi!  Nice to meet you!..."  He has also started saying this to people out in public.  It's so funny to see people's responses to him.  Even the most stone-faced person just lights up when Eli greets them.

We have been calling him our little politician lately.  I obviously have no idea if he will be a politician someday, but I do think God has very big plans for that little guy.

Eli also now responds to me with a "Sorry mama" if he doesn't want something I'm offering or suggesting.  Such as, "Eli would you like some milk?"
"Uh, sorry mama."
"Would you like to go play with blocks?"
"Uh, sorry mama."
It totally cracks us up.

"More time."

At times you may find yourself being increasingly frustrated.  Frustrated at little hands that hit and pinch.  Frustrated at the sound of your own voice when you say, "Be GENTLE!" for the one thousandth time this hour in a way that does not convey gentleness.

Maybe you find yourself staring a Galations 5:22-23 and realizing that the fruits of a life controlled by the Holy Spirit don't look a whole lot like you in the last few weeks.

Maybe you find yourself praying that God will help you show a little more love, a little more joy, a little more patience, a little more kindness, a little more gentleness today.

But it's only lunch time and the feelings of frustration are quickly rising.

This is where I found myself today.

"Why do you keep hitting?!?"

And then, God, in all of his mercy whispers quietly, "Show him gentleness."  And I am reminded that he is just a child.  And his aggressive behavior is an attempt to communicate.

So I demonstrate.

And I wonder, what is he trying to tell me?  So I scoop that big boy up, cradle him in my lap, and ask about his morning.

"Did you sing songs?"

"yes."

And I begin to rock.  And I begin to sing.  Christmas songs at first.  He smiles.

I notice how he falls into me.  How he rubs his eyes.  I know he is tired, but he refuses to nap.  So I begin to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children".  When I finish he says, "More time mama?", which is his way of asking for one more time.

We sing again, only this time I put his name in the song:
Jesus loves the little Elis,
All the Elis of the world.
Red and yellow
Black and white
Eli's precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little Elis of the world.

"More time, mama," he whispers.  We sing about Jesus' love over and over again.

 I'm overwhelmed by how much He loves my little boy.  And how much He loves me.

I'm thankful for the times He helps me get this parenting thing right.  Because it's too hard of a job to do without Him.

For Silence

This month, we said goodbye to cable television.  I'll be honest, I wasn't very excited about it, but knew it was something that must be done.  But I must say, I have grown to greatly appreciate the silence that has come with not having a tv on for "background noise".  It's been really nice and Ryan and I both noticed that we really don't miss cable.  We also won't miss the money we paid for it anymore either.  And our kids haven't missed a beat because the only shows they watched were on PBS anyway.

Try it.  You may like it, too!

Silence really is golden...especially in a small house with three young children.  Unless it's too quiet, and then we probably need to go check on two little boys who shall remain nameless.