Dance, Dance Baby!

We have a short worship time each week at our house before school.  Last week we had some fun music to praise God with, and Nathanael was really getting into it.

Dance Unto the Lord

In May the girls participated in the Spring dance for their ballet school.  It was an original ballet written by the director and main teacher at the Wilmore Christian Ballet. It was a reminder of the coming of Jesus the King and a call to worship Him.  It was beautiful to watch, and I was very proud of Rachel and Abby and all of the students who worked very hard!  Here a few pictures...

Abby with her class

Abby

Abby dancing with one of her teachers.  This was a treat for the girls- to get to do lifts and partner dancing.

Rachel in one of her dances.  It was a song of redemption and transformation in Christ.  Notice the black  in the corner.  They were dressed in all black for the first half of the dance, then shed it to show these beautiful colors.

More from the same dance.  Again you can see the black in the background.

Rachel in her second dance. 

 

The Transformation from Baby to Toddler

It happens to all mommies.  That day when you realize suddenly how big your "baby" is now, and then, all of a sudden, he's not so much of a baby any longer.  It is bitter sweet for me, usually.  It is fascinating and often hilarious as a child begins to develop language rapidly, and starts running and interacting with others around them.  But it can be a little sad to realize the baby months are over already.  And then there is the extra effort that this stage of development requires as the child learns to test boundaries and assert his own will.  With Nathanael, though, this time, it is mostly sweet.  His baby months were rather difficult so I am not as sad as usual to see them go.  I love to see his siblings interacting with him more and more.  And I guess I am getting used to the extra effort at discipline.  And I am realizing that the effort is worth it, because if you teach them to obey at an early age, the older years are much more peaceful and enjoyable.  unfortunately, I learned some of that the hard way.  But this post is about celebrating this transition... so here is my cutie in the midst of transformation.

Close-up from April at a campout.

Super Baby Nathanael, copying his brothers.  I think  Silas helped dress him.  Nathanael really loves Silas.  He lights up and calls his name when he walks in the room. :) 

Caught Red Handed... and messy!  I was making breakfast and had put these pancake fixings on the table.  Nathanael had gone right in, climbed up in the chair and helped himself to the bowl of yogurt.  It was ALL over him and the table and the chair!  He had eaten half of it before I even noticed.  It was too funny to be mad about, even though it did make quite a mess.

Reality Check, Part 2-- Pray!

(If you haven't already read Part One, you better start there!)
Do I care about the suffering of others?  And if so how can I respond?  In first John, we are challenged not to shut up our heart to the sufferings of others but to love in action and truth.
And this is where the struggle comes.  What does it mean to have the mind of Christ, to walk in His steps, to love God first and my neighbor as myself?  Practically, in my life, with my 6 kids and wonderful husband and in my own personal struggles, what does it mean to care about the suffering of others.  And this applies not just to sex slaves, but to all varieties of evils.  They are all around us if we were just willing to open our eyes and hearts.
First, this... to love the Lord my God with all my heart and to love my neighbor as myself.  First and foremost I must love God.  And to love God means to love what he loves and hate what he hates.  He hates the evil of human trafficking, with its roots in the love and worship of money, and the unbridled fleshly lusts, and the dehumanization of people created in the image of Almighty God!  Secondly, I must love my neighbor as myself.  And this applies to everyone!  Those I see everyday and those I have never met, but hear of them.  They are real people who represent other real people livng in hellish conditions, treated like animals.  I would want people to care about me if I were in that state.  And so I cannot look the other way!  I can't go back to life as I knew it.  But I can't go to Thailand or Moldova or Amsterdam, at least right now. So what can I do?
PRAY!!!!
At my house we have been studying and memorizing Ephesians 6:10-18, the passage of Scripture that describes the armor of God and why it is so important to "put on the full armor of God."  Today as I was watching the movie, I kept thinking about verse 12 that says, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against world powers of this darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavens."  Oh that I would take up my place, that the Church would take up her place, on the battlefields in the heavenlies and fight!  The battle rages, whether or not I join in.  I can turn my head and pretend that my little world is all that there is.  But that is not the reality!  The reality is that we have an enemy and he has forces that are creating all kinds of evil in this world!  And I am a soldier of Christ.  We all are called to be soldiers, fighting, not against flesh and blood, but fighting in the heavenlies.  And how do we do this?  Prayer is the biggest weapon!  Verse 18 concludes the well known armor of God in this way.  "Pray at all times in the Spirit with all every kind of prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for the saints."  I have often heard the Armor of God talked about without mentioning this concluding piece.  But it is vital!!!  How else can we have strength in God and power in his might and take a stand against the "schemes" or "tactics of the devil" without prayer?  We, as a Church, must stay alert and pray at all times!
So to conclude my rambling...my response, then, to this tragedy, this evil in the world, first is to care, to remember.  I cannot "put my fingers in my ears" and sing "na, na, na, na, na..." not wanting to hear and have my heart broken or my life interrupted.  It's tempting, even now it almost seems dream-like, the images and stories told of lives broken and abused in such horrific and largely unseen ways.  Secondly, I must pray!  I am called to pray in a deliberate, purposeful way, and that is why both David and I have given this season of our lives to be part of the House of Prayer.  It is the one who prays, who changes the world!  This is truth!  But not everyone is called to pray in a House of Prayer, but EVERYONE IS CALLED TO PRAY!  And to pray at all times in the Spirit.  That's another post topic as well!  But I purpose to be intentional to take my place in prayer to see this evil defeated and God's Kingdom come on the earth as it is in heaven.  My bubble is burst, and I will shine forth the glory of Christ in each droplet of water that falls.
The movie does end with hope!  Many ladies shared how Jesus had supernaturally rescued them from their hellish lives and is redeeming them and using them to help others get free.  And there are parts of the Body of Christ all around the world that are laboring in prayer and servant love to help those who have been victims of human trafficking.  God is bigger than any evil in the world and He rules with justice and righteousness.  And this is the truth that sets men free!

Caution: Reality Check in Progress

Warning:  the content of this post is not appropriate for all ages!
Today at CornerStone International House of Prayer we watched a movie titled Nefarious: Merchant of Souls about human trafficking.  My mind and heart are reeling so I thought I would blog a little [at lot as it turns out :) ] to sort out some thoughts and emotions.  First, I will say that I have been outside of the country and seen some amount of poverty, and heard personal stories of evil, depravity, desperation, and God's redemption.  I am not naive to the fact that we are in a spiritual battle.  But today I was confronted with an evil in this world that reaches far deeper and is more intensely spiritual than I knew!  Millions of people right now are living as slaves, barely getting enough to eat, constantly in fear of their lives, devoid of any worth, forced to sell their bodies so that someone else can make money!  This is real!  It is really shaking me.  As I sit in my comfortable home with a very blessed life, so many others are living in possibly the closest thing to hell that people could experience on earth!  I learned that some women are forcefully abducted (more than most would care to admit) and then kept like cattle for the pleasure of others.  Some are coerced into prostitution by the promise of a better life, only to find that once they get in, it's nearly impossible to get out. Some young girls are sold into prostitution by the parents as a way to make money and get a better life for themselves, with no thought about the abuse and torture that will happen to their child.  Maddening!  Sickening!  I want to scream and rage about it.  And in one sense, I think that response is appropriate.  How can I hear about such terrible, evil, real things and not react in righteous anger!  But raging about it will not help those who are caught in this larger-than-I-know net.  What is the appropriate response for me, for the Church?  This is part of the reason for this blog.  I want to be willing to wrestle with this.  It would be so easy for me to leave that room and leave all of the stories, the realities behind me and again get engrossed in my own little world.  I am not wanting to belittle my world.  This is my reality and I have real struggles and real people that God has placed in my life.  And I have responsibility to abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit right here where I am.  And that could be its own post about my pursuit to do just that.  But right now I am challenged not to forget and look the other way at the plight of so many around the world, even in our own country!  I was shocked to learned that there are legal brothels even in America.  So why is this stuff going on, here, in a place where so many profess Christ?  And why do we not care about other's suffering?  Mostly it is hidden, and Satan would like to keep it that way.  It is so easy to get self-absorbed, living in our own little bubble.  I am so guilty of that!  We as a Church are so guilty of that.  We want our comforts, our conveniences, our programs, our familiarity, and our eyes so naturally turn inward.  And Jesus didn't come to be served, but to serve, and should we walk in His steps?  And he saw the suffering and he loved the rejected and he had compassion on the broken ones, and he came to seek and save those who were lost!  And shouldn't we, who call ourselves Christians- the Christ-like ones, actually look and love like Christ!  Do I care, really, how other people, so far removed from me suffer?  Do you?  Does Jesus?  Wrestling is important and essential if there is to be a victory!
To be continued...

Laughter!

It is one of the things that brings me so much joy... watching the older kids interact with the baby!  I can't even explain what it does to my heart.  They all love Nathanael so much.  He is a blessed kid!  Here are two short, but cute videos of some of their play!

  

The House Next Door

** The following post was (mostly) written before I went to Honduras, but it got stuck in the draft folder and I forgot about it.  So here is the story and PICTURES of the new house. :)

Wow!  What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been!  I am still in the midst of unpacking boxes, getting used to a new space, walking up and down stairs, figuring out where to put all of our stuff, and the emotional upheaval that any move is for a mama.  We just bought a house!!  This house was really just dropped into our laps.  We did not pursue buying a home, but our neighbor really wanted us to have it.  As they began to make preparations to sell it, he kept mentioning it to David.  David and I were convinced that we couldn't afford it so we didn't really seriously consider it at first.  Our neighbor even spoke to a bank loan officer about us.  We gave it into God's hands and waited and waited!  In many ways, it was nice not to go through to emotional roller coaster of house-shopping. We just kept living life as normal.  If God provided and worked out the loan, we would take the house as a gift from His hand.  If not, we would just continue on in faith. At one point the waiting did get hard. I just wanted to know something.  But just after this point, things started moving quickly and before we knew it, we were signing papers and gathering our fabulous group of movers!!  So many of our friends pitched in to help us carry stuff from the blue house to the yellow house.  :)
So we are rejoicing and thanking God for this blessing... and I am still unpacking boxes!

At the request of my mom and for those who don't live in KY, here are some pictures I took today of our  house.

front of the house

kitchen from back door hallway.  The downstairs bathroom is behind me as I take this photo, as is the laundry area.

Standing in the kitchen doorway (which is also the bottom of the stairs and a door to the dining room).  This is the school area.  Rachel is on the computer in this picture.

Standing in the same spot as above picture, but looking into the living room area.  These two areas make up the front room of the house, big and open.

Still standing in the same place, but turned around and looking into the dining room.  The stairs are beyond that door frame on the left.  The door you see straight ahead is one door to the master bedroom.  You also enter my bedroom from a door across from the downstairs bathroom.  Notice the stained glass window on the far wall, and the beautiful floor that David and his friend put down.

This is taken from the landing of the stairs.  The upstairs bathroom is to the right  right at the top of the stairs (you can't see that door in this picture).  The door you can see on the right is the boys room.  Straight down the hall is Nathanael's room, and the doorway to the left is the girls room.

This is Silas in his room with his lego creation.  It's a helicopter!  He was teaching me how to build one. :) 

This is Micah on the front porch in the Honduran made hammock that I brought home.  Everyone loves it!!  Notice the blue house in the background!