What I learned from my pastor this week... 10-11

Kevin's message this morning was from Colossians 2:6-23. This passage addresses two extremes of false teaching: cults or human philosophy, and legalism. Finding meaning in human philosophy brings hopelessness and confusion in the end. And if you find meaning in legalism you end up defeated and full of guilt. But in the center of the passage is the answer: the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross our sins were forgiven, cancelled, and nailed to the cross.

We symbolically recognized Jesus's triumph at the cross this morning by nailing a sin or weakness to a cross set up in the sanctuary. And something touched me about parenting this morning. Naomi sits with me through the whole service and colors and "takes notes" in her journal. When we came to the end of the sermon when the congregation was asked to respond by writing a sin or weakness on a piece of paper and then pinning it to the cross, she was ready to go with a little picture of something on her paper. Walking with her little hand in mine up to the cross, taking a tack, and helping her "nail" it to the cross was deeply moving for me. What a privilege it is for Kevin and I to lead our children to the cross.... I pray Naomi and Johnathan will always live in the freedom of being able to take their sins and struggles to the cross and leave them there.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

Johnathan Update

For our friends and family with whom we haven't gotten to talk yet, we have an update about little Mr. Johnathan, who has had some gross motor delays since before he learned to crawl. Our pediatrician refered him to a pediatric orthopedist this summer, when we asked for input on his toe-walking on his right foot. The orthopedics office then refered him to a pediatric neurologist.

After a long wait, we finally had his appointment this week in Austin. The doctor listened to his history, thoroughly looked at his reflexes and watched him walk and run. He noted Johnathan's leg length discrepancy (his right leg appears shorter than his left), the way Johnathan holds his right arm when he walks, and his apparent left-handedness. His initial thoughts are that Johnathan likely has hemiparetic (affecting one side of the body) cerebral palsy, causing a tightening of his heel cord on the right side.

The next step for Johnathan is an MRI to confirm the area of his brain on the left hemisphere that was injured either before birth or at the time of his birth. He will also see the pediatric orthopedic specialist next to determine the best course of action to help him walk flat - that may involve surgery, physical therapy, and orthotics.

We are now waiting to find out when our next trip to Austin will be, when we will hopefully be able to complete the MRI, follow-up with the neurologist, and see the orthopedic specialist, as well. We so appreciate the prayers and love our family, friends, and church family have shared with us! We'll keep you updated as we learn more.

Pizza Party!

What I learned from my pastor... 10-4

Kevin spoke about "Great Expectations" from Colossians 1:24-2:5. The majority of the passage addresses the expectations of a pastor, including suffering for the sake of Christ and proclaiming the hope we have in Christ, and working hard. One expectation that stood out to me was that a pastor must have a true love for God's church. Kevin pointed out that there are many authors and speakers who claim to just love Jesus, yet they slam "the church" for various reasons. He said this is like a guy saying to his buddy, "I have a great time hanging out with you, but could you get rid of your wife? I can't stand her!" Christ loves his church, even though she is flawed, and pastors need to demonstrate that same love.

The second part of the passage addresses expectations of believers: to be knit together in love and unity, to grow in knowledge of Christ and assurance, and to be discerning as they listen to teaching. Of course, humanly speaking, this is impossible. But the key is in verse 1:27... Christ in you, the hope of glory!

Awana's Crazy Tie Night

Duct tape is so versatile!

Whoop!

I went to my first (and Kevin's second) Texas A&M football game this weekend - What an experience! Now, I haven't been to a large number of college games, but I'm pretty certain Aggie games are one-of-a-kind. Here are my highlights (my apologies to football fans who want sports-related highlights. Most of mine revolve around the band, I'm afraid!).

The student section (pictured above) is humongous! And all but three of them were wearing maroon (okay, that might be an exaggeration - but not by much!). And they never sit down. And they stayed the entire game - even the whole half-time show. They don't have cheerleaders - they have "Yell Leaders" - and the entire student section yells. Loud. In fact, the entire stadium links shoulders to sing a song every quarter. They yell "whoop" when the announcer says something favorable. There are also dozens of other traditions the Aggies observe. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Whenever the teams scores, the fans "score" (get to kiss their date). Kevin "scored" 16 times this evening. If you're doing the math, that's 56 points for the Aggies (don't forget extra points!).

2. This next tradition is a close second for me, and I think it was just in the section where we were sitting. The person sitting next to me passed a tupperware container full of fudge at the end of halftime - we had to eat a piece to bring the team good luck in the second half. Anything to support the team!

3. The band does this really amazing thing in which it marches to the end of the field, then each row does an about-face and marches back, turning the whole formation in on itself... Confused? Just watch:

So, so cool. Yes, I was a band geek in high school. A drum major, even.

4. At the end of the game, if the Aggies win, the Corp of Cadets (dressed in khaki uniform) tackle the Yell Leaders (fleeing in white uniform) and throw them in a fountain. Nice way to celebrate!

Lots of fun to go to a game together. Below is our attempt to get a picture of ourselves. Turns out the camera was on movie mode. So it's a movie of us at the stadium!

Green Eggs and Scorpions

No, this is not the title of Dr. Seuss's most sinister book. It's just a summary of two interesting facts I learned this week. (Note: To our moms, if you are reading this, please stop now and go to the next post.)

Fact #1

It is a good idea to check your bedsheets here for scorpions. Just in case one is in there.



Because finding a scorpion in your bed is a little disconcerting, and certainly mars an otherwise good night of sleep.

In the interest of truth in reporting, I would like to point out that the above picture is a stock photo from the internet, chosen to enhance this post. I did not have the presence of mind to grab the camera to take a photo of the actual scorpion we found.

And moms - I told you to stop reading, but I know you still are, so I want to to know that our pest-control appointment has been scheduled.


On a lighter note, Fact #2

There is a variety of chicken that lays green eggs! I know I'm a city girl, but am I the only one who's never heard of actual green eggs? Here's a picture to prove it to any sceptics...

We love fresh eggs, and Miss Hannah from church is selling eggs now. So I was very eggcited to have a source of fresh eggs.... But when she told me some of them were green, well, that's just even better!