The Blessings of Family

I love coming home from a trip. The whole enchilada, if you will. I love unpacking the suitcase and seeing our clothes neatly hung in straight rows or placed in careful piles in the drawers. As much as I dislike doing laundry, there is something gratifying about pulling the clean clothes out of the dryer and feeling the finality that all physical remnants of the trip are washed away. I love sleeping in my own bed with the familiar weight of my quilt and the comforting nighttime sounds associated with our house. Each load of laundry and rustle of the quilt whispers, "We're home, we're home!"

Having said that, we had a wonderful time with my family this past week. I can't remember the last time we able to stay for longer than a long weekend, and the extra days were such a blessing.

If you have seen the photo show from my post Friday, then some of what I blog about will seem familiar because you will have a photo to go along with the story. We left our house at 5 am Saturday, and arrived at Mama and Daddy's house around 10 am. I was amazed at how much Benjamin (my nephew, aka BB) had grown since January!! He was walking (running) around the house and is probably the most obedient child I have ever seen.

Patrick and Ronna approach discipline and correction from a biblical standpoint, and the results are astounding. I am sorry to say that Trevor and I used more secular, mainstream methods with Nathan and Grace until about a year and a half ago when we really started to understand what it meant to raise our children in a biblical way. It's amazing the way a child responds to authority (all authority and not just mom and dad), and to direction when they are taught biblical obedience from the very beginning.

Benjamin has moments like any other almost 2 year old, but the vast majority of the time he is happy, engaging and obedient. Any adult can ask him to "give" whatever he is holding, and he will immediately hand it to them. He responds to verbal instruction immediately, and he is one of the happiest babies I have ever come across.

When BB is asked, "Who loves Xanzie (or Nannie, or Daddy, etc)?" he thrusts his little hand in the air as though he is answering a question in class and yells, "I do!!" It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen and I wish that I had been able to capture it on film.

We spent most of our time lounging around and catching up with one another. The first night, Patrick, Ronna, Trevor and I stayed up until almost midnight discussing and debating theology. This is one of the main reasons that I enjoy my time so much with them...all the questions that I have had about my bible studies and personal reading that I have not been able to find satisfactory answers to, are fodder for discussion and teaching. I know that if I am having an issue with some area of my spiritual life, Patrick and Ronna are willing and able to help me discern the truth and to pray for me. Having a Christian family is quite possibly one the greatest blessings in this life.

The trip was filled with activity: Trevor and Patrick built a potting bench for my grandmother, Ronna and I worked on pages for a scrapbook that contained pictures of our family in Louisiana for BB, so that he would not forget us (they live in DC), and of course all of the cooking that went on. There is always cooking when we go home. I made chicken and dumplings one evening and a pork loin the next. Mix in the baking of cookies and cakes, and you have my mom's kitchen.

I was finally ready to go out the my uncle's house this trip. He passed away in January, and I have been home several times, but physically unable to go out to his house to see my aunt and cousin. It's not just the house....it's the property. It belonged to my great-grandfather and I have been going there my entire life. We climbed trees, played in the garden and had family reunions at Christmas. It seems as though my history as a human being is somehow tied up in that place....like the very cradle of my existence. I don't really know how to express such a feeling in words, but suffice it to say that I have had a serious issue with going back since Uncle Tellius' death.

When we turned down the road, I cried a few preemptive tears but when the house and property came into view, it looked just the same as it always had. I don't know why I was surprised by the normalcy of it all...maybe I was expecting it to look different because it felt different. But when I went inside, it looked just as it always had minus the greeting of "Hey baby!" from Uncle Tellius. I never realized until that moment how much that simple greeting made the experience of visiting them complete.

So, we are home and have just enough time to catch our breath before school starts Monday and our schedules change again. I laughed out loud at Karen's post about the first day of school and I too embrace the change in the fall. I am not a SAHM, but the kids are just more "into" things during the summer, and school brings with it a sense of calm that is not present during high summer! I look forward to the coming evenings at the kitchen table with Nathan, helping him with his homework and being a part of his educational growth.

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We Have Tomorrow Off!

The call came at 8 am this morning. Chris found a note on his office door asking if I could teach Sunday School today because Noelle (my co-instructor) wasn't going to be there. So, the call asking me to teach came an hour and a half before Sunday School started, and I was still asleep in my soft, warm bed. Did I mention that I had not even reviewed the lesson yet?

The ironic thing about it was that Chris and Ali were over for dinner last night and we were discussing what a shame it was that I wasn't teaching this particular lesson since it was about a subject that I am very passionate about. The theology of election is something that I struggled with for several years before I was finally able to wrap my brain around it. I was glad to have the opportunity to present this point of view to the class.

So, I grabbed my Bible and the teacher's study guide and spent about 45 min hurriedly studying before I had to get dressed. I made it to church on time, and the lesson went well in large part because most of the class agreed that the bible teaches unconditional election.

After church we came home and had leftover chicken and sausage gumbo and then proceeded to fall into a carbohydrate coma on the couch. The phone roused me just after 2 pm, so I got up and tackled the mountain of laundry that had been accumulating all week. I went between the laundry room and the couch all afternoon until it was time to go to church again at 5 pm. When it's a holiday weekend, you don't have that sense of urgency that usually accompanies Sunday afternoon. With the prospect of a whole other day off, you can afford to move slow and not get much accomplished.

Evening worship was really nice because it was a special service where we sang hymns instead of praise music. Nathan enjoyed singing with us and it was good to hear all the old songs. We were so excited about the singing that we came home and sang at the piano for a little while. I use the term "sang" loosely not because we can't sing, but because my piano playing skills are a bit rusty and I've never been good at hymns anyway. The more I play, the better I get (go figure) so some songs were better than others!

Now it's time to think about going to bed and I am enjoying the anticipation of an extra morning to sleep late, enjoy my coffee out on the deck and just generally be lazy. We've invited Trevor's family over for Memorial Day lunch as well as Chris, Ali, Nate and Calvin. It will be a full house, but lots of fun.

The Five Solas

I had a nice surprise yesterday morning when Kellye called me to see if I wanted to meet for lunch. We decided on Pei Wei (was there really any other option?) and she picked me up. It was good to get away from work and to spend some time with her one on one. Usually we are with the spousal units, all of the kids or other friends so it was an unexpected pleasure to hang out together for a little while. Kate was along for the ride and I had fun just looking at her cherubic little face sitting across the table from me. Of course, looking at someone else's child is always easier than dealing with your own....I think Kellye would debate the point of "one on one" time since she was the one holding (and sporadically struggling with) the Crazy Lady.

The afternoon absolutely dragged by and I spent much of my time reading a book called "Catholicism: East of Eden" by Richard Bennett. This is a book recommended to me by a friend who was raised Catholic but later came to know Jesus in a personal way and began attending a protestant church. It was written by a man who was born into a devout Roman Catholic home in Ireland, went to Jesuit school as a child and then became a priest after attending the Angelicum University of Rome. After fourteen years of contrasting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to Biblical truth, he was convicted by the Gospel message of God's grace alone and after 22 years in the priesthood he formally left the church. The book gives clear scriptural (and historical) references that are often diametrically opposed to what the Catholic church teaches it's members. The overwhelming theme is that the Catholic church values tradition and ritual over the clear teaching in scripture. This book was not written by someone who has no idea what it's like to be devoutly Catholic and to believe heart and soul what the church teaches. It was written by a man who has a deep passion for Catholics and only wants them to see the truth of scripture for themselves and to not blindly follow the teachings of the church simply because that's the way it's always been done.

It's a really fascinating (and eye-opening) read that I have a hard time putting down. I am completely ignorant of the inner workings of the Catholic church because I was raised Baptist. I often hear things said by my Catholic friends with regard to their religion that I do not understand and can't really comment on because I have no point of reference. Trevor's entire family is Catholic...I think they were all a bit scandalized that we were married in a Baptist church and not as a Catholic sacrament. This book is helping me to understand where they are coming from as far as their beliefs are concerned.

What I believe is Sola Gratia (grace alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be glory)--pillars of the Protestant Reformation. The grace of Jesus Christ is what saves me from my sins and sure death. My faith in Him and belief that His death on the cross and resurrection paid my debt forever is what makes me a Christian. I cannot lose my salvation if I have truly put my faith in Him and works (good or bad) cannot change that. We are not saved by works, but by grace. I believe that scripture is the final answer to all matters. If the Bible says that it is true, then it is. If the Bible seems to contradict a teaching of a particular religion, then the religious teaching is erroneous--not the scripture. It is the Word of God, and as such, cannot be false. I think that Christians should be associated with a church that teaches expositionally from the bible and that if there are practices within that body of believers that do not mesh with what the scripture says, then they should be challenged. There are traditions in the Baptist church that I do not hold to because they have absolutely no biblical grounds, primarily the idea that the drinking of alcohol is a sin and therefore forbidden. (I'm not even going to go into the whole dancing thing...) I came across a blog by Wade Burleson who is a member of the International Mission Board and represents the Southern Baptist Convention. I agree wholeheartedly with his view on alcohol consumption and I've included a link to an entry in his blog that I found very interesting and biblically accurate: http://tinyurl.com/2azwa4.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open scripture to me in such a way that I will be able to present the truth to anyone who seeks it, in a way that they will be able to understand and accept. I also pray that the sin in my own life will be revealed to me by reading the Word of God and that I will be convicted of it and seek forgiveness and renewing of the spirit. My desire is to be used as an instrument for the glory of God and that I will be open and receptive to his direction for me.

Open Highway

To the great relief of my spousal unit and offspring, I am finally feeling like a human being again. For the first time since Wednesday I woke up without hacking up my lungs and feeling like I had been hit by a freight train in the night. It felt good to take a long shower and then feel ready to actually DO something when I was finished instead of crawling back into bed.

Today is the day the cover on the deck will be finished! Trevor and Will got most of the frame up yesterday and today his dad and Will are coming over to complete the job. I have so much to do inside since the housework has gone by the wayside during my convalescence. It's bordering on scary and gross to use our bathroom these days! So I have my work cut out for me and so do the guys.

I am looking forward to lunch tomorrow because our friends Ali and Chris called last night to see if we wanted to get together this weekend to catch up. With all that we have going on here and with their bathroom remodeling project, we decided that lunch after church would be the best option. I have written extensively about how blessed we have been to connect with Kellye and Kenneth, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention Ali and Chris. Chris is the Education Pastor at our church and probably one of the most brilliant people I have ever met. Absentminded, yes. But that does not detract from his intellect. Ali teaches the Sunday School class that I joined when I started going back to church regularly. I can say with all sincerity and honesty that it was the prayer support from Ali and the theological teaching from Chris that kept me in church and eventually softened Trevor's heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

They are great friends, and while it is difficult at times to schedule time together to just hang out we love them and value their friendship. Short of putting all four kids in straight jackets and muzzles (and don't think that hasn't crossed my mind a time or two!), it is impossible to have an adult conversation without a babysitter. One of these days we are going to be able to coordinate our sitters and actually have them at the same time so we can get together!

So, the weekend stretches out in front of me like an open highway just waiting to be driven on in a convertible with the top down and the radio blaring. I'll let you know how the trip goes!