More naptime praise and worship

As you can see below, napping in our house is a rare occurance. But the praise and worship services are going strong every afternoon!

Praise and glory, wisdom and strength, honor and power and thanks...

...Be to our God, forever and ever!

What I learned from my pastor... 8-9

We learned about what Kevin called "The Jonah Syndrome" - from Jonah 4:1-4. It's obvious from Jonah's response to the Ninevites' repentance that he did not want them to know God or receive forgiveness. When we don't really love people or see them as God does, it's easy to have a response like Jonah's. Kevin challenged us to examine our hearts and motives for misplaced anger, a distorted perspective, and a disconnect between our knowledge of the truth and our heart for the lost. I need to pray for a heart like Jesus's, so that redemptive passion replaces "religious" zeal and I can see people as He does.

Horticulture & Heat

After Naomi's swimming lesson on Friday we thought we'd hop over to A&M's horticultural gardens to take a look "before it gets too hot." In August, however, 8:30 a.m. is already pretty toasty.... Especially when you're piggybacking a 3 year old all over! But it was still pretty, and we posed for a few pictures:

What's wrong, Rachel? You look a little tense.

Oh, nothing. Just a few fire ants biting my toes. Please take the picture!

The Tractor Ride

Johnathan had a very exciting Monday - Mr. Bill, one of the church's trusty trustees, was working on a project and offered him a ride on the tractor!



He grabbed Mr. Bill's hand and marched right off to the rumbling tractor, hopped in, and buckled up! Johnathan reports that they "went somewhere else" and got some dirt "for the church".
He sure was proud of himself when he returned!! Thanks, Mr. Bill!

Children's Museum

We're looking for fun Friday activities that beat the heat these days, so this Friday we tried out the Children's Museum in Bryan. It was just right for our 3 and 5 year old, with activity centers including...



Puppets...




Grocery shopping...



Fill up that cart, Johnathan!



... and Johnathan's personal favorite, trains! To be accurate, Naomi tried everything (there were centers for art, music, books, and medical stuff, too). And, except for a brief "shopping trip" to buy ice cream, Johnathan stuck with what he knew he liked - trains, trains, and more trains. He's on a transportation kick right now. I think he discovered the thrill of Matchbox cars practically overnight, and now they are his pride and joy, including the special boxes in which he lovingly stores them!

Anyway, the museum was fun - a great place to play away a few hours on a hot day!

What I learned from my pastor... 8-2

Kevin's sermon this morning was entitled "Mighty to Save". From Jonah 3, we learned how God powerfully saved the people of Ninevah. With just 5 words from a prophet they had probably never heard of, the entire great city repented and were saved from judgment. God is never required to offer people second chances, yet in His love and mercy, He does. And given that the Ninevites worshipped a fish god, it is possible that Jonah was particularly well-prepared to have his message from the true God received. I want to be available to Him and prepared by Him to share His love as He gives opportunities.

On a less-spiritual note... Kevin and I had a chuckle thinking about all the cattle in Ninevah who were dressed in sackcloth. Read Jonah 3 - That's what it says! Anyone out there have any insight on why they felt like the cows needed to wear sackcloth?

Naomi's Bike

So when did this happen - my baby girl zipping around on a bike?



For Naomi's birthday, we gave her a bike - covered in pink, flowers, and princesses. She loves it. Complete with her princess helmet, she would spend most of the day riding it if we let her.
Below she's ready to ride in front of the "little church":



One of the bonuses of living here is that our home is surrounded by an extensive network of sidewalks around all the buildings, as well as two large parking lots. It's all relatively flat or only mildly sloped, so its perfect for Naomi to zip around on. Here's Kevin, Naomi and Johnathan (riding his tricycle) in the parking lot in front of the "big church":



Aaand now we're playing follow the leader in the parking lot behind the church:



Naomi took to riding like a pro (with the assistance of training wheels, of course!). The only thing she needs to learn is to stop talking and watch out for trees. She's so excited about her new skill, she can't stop talking about it! Many evenings you can now find us in the parking lots, tooling around and getting plenty of exercise.