Friday, August 31, 2012

FFF: Looking back at the 10th month

First official mohawk pic
Here's my attempt to record all of the wonderful things that have happened during Enoch's 10th month of life.  I always feel like these posts are SO hard to write because each month is unique and Enoch is constantly changing!

Eating- Little man is nursing 5 times a day now (we increased it this month) and for the past week, he's also been getting 6-10 oz per day of either pumped breastmilk or formula as a  supplement.  We always feed Enoch 4 oz of applesauce in the morning, and then he usually eats lunch and dinner with us at the table.  For those bigger meals, he will generally eat bread, cheese, and a veggie/fruit.  He really enjoys eating these foods by hand (cut up into small pieces): bananas, watermelon, grapes, green beans, avocado, sweet potato, carrots.

Mobility-  Enoch loves to play on the floor either by himself or with us.  He can scoot on his bottom, make circles & roll on his tummy, and stand while holding onto something.  He hasn't tried stepping while standing yet, and he isn't very inclined to pulling up on objects, only people at this point.  :)

Although he is getting closer to crawling, it is taking some time for him to get used to being up on his knees.  He is getting much more liberal with how far he thinks is safe to reach forward though while sitting, to the point where he often ends up on his hands and knees only to fall over or push back up to sitting.

Sleep-  Enoch still sleeps through the night, though his hours have changed some over the past month.  He now stays up a little later (7 or 7:30 pm) and then he typically wakes up between 6 and 6:30 am.  His morning nap usually starts at 9 and lasts 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on how much I wore him out in the morning.  His afternoon nap is becoming less regular though.  I usually lay him down after lunch, sometime around 1 or 2, but he doesn't always fall asleep.  If he does sleep, it generally only lasts 1 hour; if he doesn't sleep, he'll usually rest for 30-45 minutes while talking/playing (though at this point we don't put toys in his crib with him).

Playing- Enoch loves simple toys and books the most.  He enjoys picking up, inspecting, throwing, and even making noises with toys that are small and have simple shapes (for example, his wooden blocks, the shape sorter blocks, rainbow stacker circles, etc.).  He also really enjoys looking at books himself and being read to. When I'm in the kitchen, sometimes I give him measuring spoons and tupperware, which he also LOVES!  :)

One other thing he has recently started doing is playing more games.  He especially likes playing peekaboo and throwing balls.  Now that he stands quite often, he will also play the falling game where as soon as he stands up, he falls down and then wants to stand again... only to immediately fall down again... and it repeats...  Below is a video of him playing "where's the baby".



Nature- On most days, Enoch is very laid back and easy going.  He is definitely active- always moving and reaching and talking, but he's usually not too demanding or fussy.  On days when he is more fussy, going for a walk in the stroller or watching cars go by on the front porch are two ways to reclaim my content little guy.   If he had it his way, we would get out of the house at least once per day (which we typically do 5-6 days of the week anyway) because he just loves seeing people and riding in the car.

One new development in the past few months (as I recall) is that although Enoch loves seeing people, he gets incredibly shy if they pay him any attention, and he often has symptoms of "stranger danger" when new people try to touch or hold him.  This happens all the time, like at the doctor office, when family and friends visit our home, when we are out shopping or walking, at church, etc.  We've heard that this is only a phase and that he'll eventually outgrow it, so we're not doing too much to train him not to do this right now.


Teeth-  This month Enoch has been working on 3 top teeth.  They've been visible under his gums for around a week now, but yesterday they finally broke through so that we could feel them.  This puts him up to 5 teeth now.

Clothing-
 12 mos is getting too tight when he wears his bulky cloth diapers, so I find myself putting him in 18 mos clothes mainly.  




Small details I want to remember:

Eating with his hands... We joke that it seems like Enoch thinks that he has to hurry & gobble up his food so that no one snatches it away from him. A lot of times he even grabs 2 or 3 pieces of food at a time.   :)


Throwing his toys...  He loves to throw them out of his stroller, out of his carseat, and even out of the bathtub. He also throws them just out of his reach when he plays on the floor. It's really cute because he ends up being encircled by a ring of toys, each of which is just a tad too far away for him to grab without falling over or scooting.

Chilling with his buddy after swimming

Swimming...  We have been invited to swim almost every Tuesday morning since we've been here by some sweet ladies at a church in our town.  Although we aren't always able to make it do to Enoch's nap schedule, it is such a treat when we do get to go!  I love chatting with the other moms, and Enoch enjoys seeing the other babies (and big kids) too.

Kissing... I know I already posted a video of this, but it's just TOO cute, and it melts this mama's heart each time he gives me one of his wet sugars.



Walking with Mama on MSU campus
Exercising...  I've started taking Enoch with me now when I go out for exercise.  He really enjoys getting out and seeing the people and cars that we pass, and it is a great way to be active while having him with me.  I hope to find a better stroller soon (like a jogging stroller), but for now our regular one is working okay since I don't really run that fast.


Talking... Little man loves to talk and jabber, almost constantly.  His newest thing is to say "huh" or "uh" repeatedly while looking you in the face (like he's asking you a question each time).    We have made some progress on teaching him to be quiet in church by saying "shh..." and placing our hand over his mouth and saying "no" when he talks, but there's still much training to be done in this area.  :)




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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Chapter 4

Gilbert starts off Chapter 4 (Jesus Christ the Savior) by focusing on how powerful the word "but" can be.  He lists off several examples of how "but" can totally change a story and its outcome.  Then he gets to the heart of why such a simple word is so important to the gospel:
"You are a sinner destined to be condemned.  But God has acted to save sinners just like you!"  (60)
He then steps through some important doctrines about who Jesus is.  I appreciated the way Gilbert pumped this chapter full of Scripture, and so I thought I'd highlight a few of those verses under each of his main points because the Word of God does such a magnificent job of telling all about the Messiah, Jesus.

Fully God, Fully Man
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:1,14)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  (Hebrews 4:15)

Because he is the Son of God, without sin and equal in every divine perfection to God the Father, he is able to defeat death and save us from our sin.  In the same way, it is also critical that Jesus be truly one of us -- that is, fully human -- so that he can rightly represent us before his Father. (p. 61-62)

The Messiah King -- Here!
The angel said to Mary regarding the birth of her son, Jesus:
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.  (Luke 1:32-33)

Unexpected Good News -- If You Can Get in on it
King Jesus came no only to inaugurate the kingdom of God, but also to bring sinners into it by dying in their place and for their sin, taking their punishment on himself and securing forgiveness for them, making them righteous in God's sight, and qualifying them to share in the inheritance of the kingdom. (p. 64, summarized from Col. 1:12 by Gilbert)

A Suffering King?
John the Baptist said of Jesus:
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1:29b)

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:45)

For our sake, he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly... but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:6,8)

He himself [Jesus] bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed.  (1 Peter 2:24)

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions;  he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - everyone - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6)


The Heart of the Gospel
According to Gilbert, this is the heart of the gospel:
A righteous and holy God can justify the ungodly because in Jesus' death, mercy and justice were perfectly reconciled.  The curse was righteously executed, and we were mercifully saved.  (p. 69)

He Has Risen
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn?  Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  (Romans 8:33-34)







For those of you reading along with me, we'll cover chapter 5 next week: Response -- Faith and Repentance.  Until then, here are some questions about this chapter you can chew on.  And feel free to post a comment below, too!

Was there one specific passage of Scripture that stood out to you from this chapter?  Did you notice any  verses that you'd like to commit to your memory?  Did you particularly appreciate any of Gilbert's explanations about what makes Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection significant?


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Monday, August 27, 2012

How important is the church in your spiritual life?



This video was in a Desiring God blog over the weekend, and I really appreciated the insights that David Powlison (from the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation) gives in it.  He explains in detail the role of the church in personal sanctification (growing in holiness).   Whether you currently attend a church regularly, for special occasions only, or not at all, if you profess to be a Christian, I'd encourage you to watch this.  He doesn't only give his opinions, rather he heavily leans on what the Scriptures have to say, and in my opinion, he gives great reasons about why we should all be in community with a local body of Christ.




Thanks to the Desiring God team for creating this video and to Justin Taylor for following it up with helpful links here.



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Friday, August 24, 2012

FFF: Kissing

I'm happy to announce that for this weeks For the Family Friday post, we have ground-breaking footage....  Enoch has finally learned how to give kisses!!

He's always accepted kisses, of course, but now he actually does all of the work!  It is just the sweetest thing for this mama's heart to have the little man kiss me.  Hugh was even able to capture a little bit of it on camera:




One of the funny things about him kissing is that now when I ask him to give me a high five and put my hand out, he tries to kiss it!  He's never been great at doing high fives, but he used to at least hold his hand up sometimes and let me hit it for the five... not any more!  Now he gives kiss fives.  cute?  I think so!
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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 of "What is the Gospel?" Greg Gilbert breaks down the second part of his gospel explanation: Man the Sinner.  I appreciate the approach he takes in stepping through this sticky subject. Although I'm not going to go into super detail (because the book does a good-enough job), I thought I'd at least mention a few of my favorite points in this chapter.


First, I appreciate how he lets the weight of sin sink in.
According to the Bible, sin is a lot more than just the violation of some impersonal, arbitrary, heavenly traffic regulation.  It's the breaking of a relationship, and even more, it is a rejection of God himself -- a repudiation of God's rule, God's care, God's authority, and God's right to command those to whom he gave life.  In short, it is the rebellion of the creature against his Creator.  (p. 48)
His description of what is happening in the garden when Adam and Eve sin against God by eating the forbidden fruit is also helpful in unfurling the weight of this heavy garment that humanity is wearing because of sin.
They were rejecting God's authority over them and declaring their independence from him... Adam and Eve traded their favor with God for the pursuit of their own pleasure and their own glory.  (p. 49-50)
Trading favor with God in for their own pleasure/glory.  That's intense!  In essence, they are worshipping themselves and the creation rather than the Creator (see Romans 1:18-25 below).

This is something that I have to remind myself about everyday, multiple times a day.  We were made for the Creator but our sin nature lies to us by saying that life is really all about us, not Him.  Our sinful hearts tell us that we are truly able in and of ourselves to make ourselves happy... if only we can just _____ (fill in the blank for yourself).  But therein lies the problem.  There is nothing that we can do in and of ourselves to satisfy our lusting, sinful hearts.   No matter how much money we accrue, how skinny we become, how self-controlled we appear, how much fun we have, etc. we will NEVER be satisfied apart from Jesus because until we surrender to Him fully, we are living for the creation rather than the Creator.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  (Romans 1:18-25, emphasis mine)


That's the bad news of sin:  We suppress the truth by rejecting God and his loving authority over us so that we can please our lusting hearts with things that ultimately pass away (creation).  And this rebellion against God (sin) causes spiritual death.  Listen to Ephesians 2:1-7 --
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience -- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  
Only God can bring a dead man back to life.  Only the Lord can be rich in mercy toward us when we are dead in our sins and warranting eternal punishment.  I'm eternally thankful that the gospel doesn't end with this bad news!  I know I'm is cutting to the chase here...  Jesus the Savior is supposed to wait until next week's chapter...  It's just that the bad news of sin is SO horrible, that it's hard to leave it at that.  Gilbert makes a good point in this chapter on sin that if you take sin lightly, you minimize the magnificent grace offered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I pray that as you have read this chapter in "What is the Gospel?" (or as you've read this overview of it) that you've been reminded (or awakened) to the depths of our depravity and our desperate need of a savior.  One who gives dead men life with Christ.




Below are the links to my reviews of the past few chapters in this series on Greg Gilbert's book "What is the Gospel?"  Next week (hopefully on Wednesday) I'll be summarizing chapter 4: Jesus Christ the Savior.
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2


Feel free to post your feedback and thoughts on this chapter and/or the book below.  Specifically, if you read the chapter, did any of Gilbert's explanations of what sin isn't help you understand what sin truly is?  What was the most clarifying or eye-opening part of this chapter for you?


Your iniquities have made a separation 
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
(Isaiah 59:2) 

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Failure to Thrive

We had Enoch's one month follow up appointment on Tuesday (yesterday) to check on his weight (you can read this to see why we needed a follow up appt). The appointment went well, and I was very please with the new doctor we me with. (She was recommended by a friend who had interned under this doc last year.) Dr. Sykes asked lots of questions and looked at Enoch's charts carefully. She definitely took his weight issues seriously, but she also did a great job of not freaking out. (which this mama appreciates!) Anyway, coming away from the appointment, there is good news and bad...

The good news is that Enoch has gained some weight over the past month... 10 whole ounces! That was music to my ears since we've been working so diligently at feeding our little man mor solids, and I managed to sneak in an extra nursing session per day for the past month.

But, the bad news is that he dropped in percentiles again. At his nine month check up, he was in the 10th percentile, but now he is down in the 3rd percentile (at ten mos). Remember that at 2 mos he was over 19.5 lbs and way above the 100th percentile, so for him to be "up" to 17 lbs, 14 oz is progress (considering he was 17 - 4 last month), but with such a big drop in percentiles, you can imagine how the charts look... pretty dismal.  :(  The other issue is that developmentally, he's a little behind.  Normally, this is not a big deal, but with the weight issues, Dr. Sykes was concerned that he isn't yet crawling (or walking).  So, as a result of the weight gain issues and the lack of crawling, Dr. Sykes has pronounced Enoch as failing to thrive.

Enoch after having blood drawn
(see the hospital band on his ankle?)
Anyway, Dr. Sykes (who also happens to be a Christian) was great about brainstorming through possible issues and asking good questions. She decided to "cast" two large nets to see if she can find the problem. The first is to see if anything is wrong with Enoch's metabolism or how his body is using the food he's getting. So she ordered some labwork for him to see if anything came back even slightly off. Second, she wanted to change a few things about what little man's eating.  The main idea is to figure out if my breastmilk has changed (which, of course it has to some degree..).  For instance, it's possible that my milk is lower in calories or that my supply has decreased.  So the original plan was to use up all of my frozen breastmilk (Since it was from the timeframe when Enoch was still gaining weight, the idea was that if he gained a significant amount of weight this week, then we would know that my current milk production could be the lacking in some way.), but I think my frozen milk has soured (either in transport from AR or due to its shelf-life in the freezer). So now the second "net" we are trying is to give Enoch a bit of formula after each nursing session (the goal is around 2 ounces per feeding).

[update 1: We now think that my frozen milk hasn't actually gone bad. When I tested the formula bottle at dinner, it tasted the same as my frozen milk which I thought had gone bad this morning... for some reason they just both taste and smell horrible to me.  Hugh tried my frozen milk tonight and confirmed that it tastes similar to the formula, so we think it is okay... I have no idea why, but the smell of either makes me gag, let alone the taste.   And yes it is weird taste-test your own milk... the things we moms do for our little ones.  haha!]  So, we may also use the frozen milk to supplement Enoch's nursings.]
[update 2: Enoch's bloodwork came back pretty normal.  There were a few numbers close to the edge of normal, but nothing concerning at first glance.  Dr. Sykes (who called me today!!) said that she is running Enoch's info by another pediatrician who she greatly respects in hopes of having a second opinion and a course of action ready for next week.  So thankful for her phone call today...  I love our new doctor!!!!!!]



Back to the issues at hand: we have made another follow-up appointment for the middle of next week, so we will soon find out if the extra nursing sessions are working AND the results of the labwork.

Until then, please join with us in praying.

  • We are praying that our sovereign Creator, the ultimate Healer, will resolve any issues with Enoch's digestive system and my milk supply (wherever the issues may lie) so that he will make monumental progress in gaining weight this week.   
  • We are also praying that Dr. Sykes (and others) will have wisdom as she analyzes labwork results and decides what our next step of action is.
  • Additionally, we are praying that the Lord of peace would provide us and our family with perfect peace as we walk through this trial.  We understand that Enoch's life is in God's loving hand and that trusting in Him and relying on Him is all that we can do as we seek to be faithful in the details.  

Isaiah 26:3 - "You keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in YOU." (NIV, emphasis mine)

I can thankfully testify that the Lord has given me peace and rest today.  Yesterday evening/last night was rough for me (and Hugh) as we wrestled through what our baby "failing to thrive" meant for our family.  I'm thankful for a husband who so faithfully leads us in prayer through hard times like these, and for a merciful heavenly Father who never sleeps nor slumbers, meaning that my pleas for help are always heard...

I lift my eyes to the hills.  
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; 
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel 
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, 
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
(Psalm 121)






And for those of you who are wondering, Enoch seems to be doing great aside from this medical report.  We are SO thankful that he is still a happy, active little guy!  He's chowing down on some Cheerios as I type, and below you can see some pics from lunch earlier today.  His appetite is still quite large, he's sleeping great, and he's having plenty of wet/dirty diapers (this mama can certainly testify about all of those diapers!!!).  ;)   And even though he's not yet crawling, he is quite active.  Enoch loves scooching around on his bottom (usually backwards or in circles), and he's quite proficient at making circles and rolling while on his tummy.  To be honest, it's possible that he's just so content (and able to move just enough to stay content) that he doesn't have much incentive for crawling yet.  He can also go from sitting to lying on his tummy (he just did this to reach some Cheerios), but there's just something uncomfortable to him about being up on his knees in a crawling position.

Eating grapes and cheese for lunch.

Sweet, full-tummy smile...  melts my heart!


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Friday, August 17, 2012

FFF: Summer Vacation 2012

To celebrate the remaining days of summer, and really to prepare us for Hugh's first semester of teaching, we took a little family vacation last weekend to Jackson, MS.  We left out last Thursday afternoon and came back on Saturday evening.  We definitely felt like it was the perfect trip to give us some relaxation and family time!!!  Here are some photos of our trip:

 
Our drive down to Jackson was beautiful, especially because we drove through a wildlife refuge, spent some time on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and went past a large reservoir right outside of Jackson.  

Our one "touristy" thing to do in Jackson was to visit the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.  They had lots of displays about Mississippi's natural habitats, and we liked the large aquariums a lot (as you'll see below)!

turtles

small fish

BIG fish

MS bucks



The hotel we stayed at had a pool, so that's what we did with a lot of our time.  Enoch loves the water (although he didn't the first time I took him swimming), and he especially loves playing in the water with Daddy!!  If you watch closely in the video below, you can even see him trying to kick his little legs every once in a while.  hehe...



 






On the way home, we stopped to shop in Meridian.  We found Hugh some nice work shoes and some new running shoes.  Enoch was a trooper while Daddy tried on pair after pair of shoes until both Mommy and Daddy approved (style + comfort is truly hard to find!!). 



The boys also obliged and let me run into Joann's fabric because there isn't one in Starkville, and I've had a certain craft project in mind for at least a few weeks now...  and I'm happy to report that they were both really good shoppers!!  :)


All in all, this trip was so nice!  The drive was short and beautiful, & we had so much fun relaxing, swimming, watching the Olympics, and even shopping!  We also ate some amazing food from a wide menu: Greek, BBQ, and American cuisines...  Hugh is already trying to plan our next short get-away, haha!!


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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Chapter 2


This week, we read through Chapter 2: God the Righteous Creator.  (Sorry I'm so late in posting this today!  This has been our busiest week down South so far, and rightly so since the university starts its semester next week!!)

I think that Gibert's introduction to this chapter is skillfully written.  It's somewhat comical, and yet there is so much underlying truth to his exaggeration (of what typical people believe about god) that it is down-right scary!  Listen to how he sums up this person's view of "god":

For the most part, he's a kind, affable, slightly dazed and needy but very loving grandfather who has wishes but no demands, can be safely ignored if you don't have time for him, and is very, very, very understanding of the fact that human beings make mistakes -- much more understanding, in fact, than the rest of us are. (p. 38-39)
Specifically, I think it's scary because even if you (or I) would never actually describe God in such ways with our words, what are our everyday actions revealing that we actually believe about Him??


In the remaining part of the chapter (the actual meat, not the appetizer) he breaks down two important details that we must get correct if we are to understand who God is.

God the Creator
 The first detail that Gilbert unpacks is that God is the creator of the universe.  I absolutely love the facts we know about how creation happened.  Do you know what my favorite one is?  The fact that God spoke everything that was created into existence out of nothing.  Meaning that there was nothing (besides God) and He literally spoke, and everything became precisely what He intended it to be (Hebrews 11:3).  How amazing is that?!?!?!!!

And as Creator, God ultimately has Creator-rights over all that He has made, including us.   Gilbert does a great job describing the implications of these Creator-rights in light of the gospel:
The gospel is God's response to the bad news of sin, and sin is a person's rejection of God's Creator-rights over him.  Thus the fundamental truth of human existence, the well from which all else flows, is that God created us, and therefore God owns us. (p. 42) 
Now it's not as if God owns us in order to be a merciless tyrant over us, no not at all.  Remember that God is perfectly good and loving, and the laws He gave for us to obey are for our ultimate good.


God the Holy & Righteous One
I love the Scripture that Gilbert uses in this section to describe the Lord:
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.  (Exodus 34:6-7, NIV)
What a great picture of God's character!  Isn't it incredible that God can be abounding in love while not letting the guilty go unpunished?  Completely loving while completely just and righteous.

It is the holy and righteous nature of the Creator God that requires justice for all who rebel and reject His authority over their lives.  And that will be a good lead in to our discussion next week, "man the sinner", so stay tuned in, & I'll try not to be late again!  :-)




I appreciate how succinct Gilbert is in this chapter.  Certainly there is so much more to God's character, but in thinking through the gospel, focusing in on God as the righteous Creator helps me stay on target and not get overwhelmed.

For those of you reading along, do you appreciate the simplicity that "God the righteous Creator" gives when you think about the gospel?  Do you typically include any other details about God when you share the gospel?




The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
(Psalm 19:1-6)



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Friday, August 10, 2012

FFF: Fun & Games

Well, I have finally gotten some good footage this week of Enoch  (or at least I think it's pretty good considering how difficult it is to video this boy!!)   The videos for this week are all focusing on playing because it's one of our favorite things to do together.



First, here's a short one of Enoch enjoying his swing out on our carport.  Granddad Craig and Granny Sandy got it for Little Man on their last visit, but it's been so hot and muggy lately, that we can only enjoy it in the early mornings for right now.  Soon enough though Fall will come and I can already tell that we'll be out in this a lot!





This one is of the "uh-oh" game.  Enoch just loves throwing things (even though he can't yet crawl to retrieve the toys he throws), so throwing blocks off of the couch and letting mama return them is quite fun for him!  ;)





And this last one is of Enoch playing with blocks.  It is incredibly long, but it shows a few of his playing tendencies that are usually hard for me to get on tape:
scooting in a circle (0:34-1:00)
reaching (to the point of almost crawling) (1:26-1:45, 5:10-5:21, 6:25-6:40)
manipulating toys (i.e. trading hands, clapping them together) (2:30-2:54)
and lots of talking throughout (not usually that hard to capture, haha!)



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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Chapter 1

Finding the Gospel in the Bible

Gilbert starts off his first chapter with a funny example about how important a reliable source of information can be for gps users as well as for people searching for spiritual truth.  He then goes on to explain why tradition, reason, and experience are not reliable enough to count on.  Only the infallible Word of God (found in the Old Testament and the New Testament) is 100% reliable for basing our understanding of the gospel on.  

Next, he takes readers through Romans 1-4 to see how the Apostle Paul (who wrote the letter to the Romans) would explain the gospel.  Through this example, Gilbert pulls out an excellent outline of the gospel: God - Man - Christ - Response.  These four main points make up the following four chapters, and they also make up the most familiar outline of the gospel for me, mainly because our [old] pastor (Mike Lumpkin at UBC) refers to this almost every time he explains the gospel.   Here is Gilbert's concise explanation of the gospel using the outline:
We are accountable to the God who created us.  We have sinned against that God and will be judged.  But God has acted in Jesus Christ to save us, and we take hold of that salvation by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus.  (p. 32)
I appreciate such conciseness and clarity.  After his example, he lists numerous passages in the Scripture in which the Apostles are also sharing the gospel (although they don't start by saying "this is the gospel").  I appreciated reading through these passages and hearing how the explanation can change (with the core truths remaining the same, of course) based on context, audience, and other variables.

If you zoomed through this chapter, I'd encourage you to go back and re-read it.  It is rich and provides a good foundation for how the book will be laid out.  



I will be posting about Chapter 2: God the Righteous Creator next Wednesday (8/15), Lord willing.



For those who read along with me, here are some questions to ponder and/or answer below (via commenting):

Which explanation of the gospel really struck a chord with you?  Did any surprise you?

Do you expect the God - Man - Christ - Response outline to be helpful for you?  Are there any other outline (or formats) that have been helpful you in explaining the gospel?




The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,

    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
     enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
     in keeping them there is great reward.

(Psalm 19:7-11)


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Friday, August 3, 2012

FFF: Comparisons (5 vs. 10 mos)

Daddy & Enoch

I put Enoch in his little Snoopy outfit today and realized that it might be the last time he fits into it (he's getting too tall)...  :(  So I thought I should take a photo since I think it's just the cutest, and since I remembered that I had a pic of him in it from a while back.  So here is the comparison:

  
5 mos                                                 10 mos


I think it's crazy how much different Enoch looks in the two photos!  Obviously he's lost the fat rolls, but even his little face looks completely different!  If there were a prize for biggest changes in appearance for babies, he'd definitely take home the gold.  If you look closely, you can also tell that he's a bit taller and quite a bit better at standing independently.  ;)  And one other thing that looks quite different is his nice tan.  No, we haven't been sun-bathing, but we do typically get out 1-2 times per day (whether walking or shopping or car watching), and it appears that the summer sun has given him just a hint of more color.  



As a side note, Little Man is also becoming increasingly adept at scooting and also at reaching really far and almost getting up on his hands and knees.  Unfortunately, it's incredibly hard to get a good video of him in action, but I'm working at it.  So I hope to post a good video soon.  Until then, we are also starting to baby-proof the kitchen cabinets and the tall furniture items that could topple over on him.  :)

And as another side note, I would also like to just put it out there that it seems ridiculous that in a few days I will have a TEN month old in my home!!  Where has the time gone?  I always feel like the month birthdays sneak up on me.  I've been enjoying each and every day with my 9 month old, but I just feel like July was a little too short... Were there really 31 days???  Maybe I should go back and check to be sure that we didn't all skip one or two of them...   :)

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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Introduction

In this opening chapter of What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert lays a foundation for why this book is so important for Christians and non-Christians alike.  Christians should have a clear understanding of the gospel because they base all of their lives on it and around it.  Non-Christians should also have a clear understanding of the gospel so that they can make an informed decision about how to respond to it.

In the middle of the chapter, he gave a handful of what you might call "randomly selected answers" to the question "what is the gospel?" (p. 18-19).   After reading through all of them, I found myself wondering why certain people had used specific wording and why each had left seemingly important (to me, anyway) aspects of the gospel out...

 "An emaciated gospel leads to emaciated worship." (p. 20) 

After reading the chapter, I feel like I was easily able to identify Gilbert's main thesis for the book:  He is striving to give a clear (and complete) answer to the question "what is the gospel?" based on Biblical truths.  I appreciated the fact that he gave a list of ways the book should help/change us (p. 20-22).   I think that at this stage in my life, the most exciting one he listed for me was causing readers to worship more fully because of all that Jesus has done (p. 20, 1st reason).




For those of you reading together with us, here are some questions to ponder (and answer below if you'd like to... please also try to reference page numbers when applicable): 

How did you feel about some of the answers that other people gave when answering the question "what is the gospel?"?  Did any of them strike a chord with you?  Any seem a bit off?  Why?

What were you most excited about in the list of ways the book should help/change readers?

Any other take-aways from the first chapter?



For those of you who haven't joined in on reading together with us yet, it's definitely not too late!  Grab a copy and get going!  It's a short read; he's funny and easy to follow. 


Next Wednesday, I'll be posting about Chapter 1. 


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