Baptism!!!... and a little catch-up
So my last post had us still in Ethiopia, waiting and resting... ha! As you may surmise we are now home, thank God, all safe and healthy... no longer waiting and resting but instead chasing a toddler and keeping up with feeding and raising four kids...
but before we connect all the dots, some big news for our family!
Mason got baptized today!
We've been having lots of talks lately about how hard it is to be kind (especially to your younger brothers) and how it's actually impossible to be fully kind and that's why we need Jesus, both to empower us through His Spirit to be kind and patient, and to forgive us and cover our sin when we totally blow it. Which we will. Usually within a few minutes of waking up.
Earlier this week, I was making and serving lunch and Mason casually mentioned that he wanted to be baptized again. We baptized him when he was a baby but Joe and I also got baptized as adults when we felt like we were ready to own our faith, so I told Mason that we'd keep talking about it but if he wanted to make his own decision to be baptized at some point we'd fully support that. It's not something we take lightly, so we talked more about it over the week, and got an email the day after the first conversation that our church was holding baptisms this weekend... I didn't even let him know about that, not wanting him to feel rushed or swayed, but I was blown away by the timing of it all. I asked him why, and he said he's been thinking about it for a few months (he's also been sitting with us in service at church where our pastor does a great job every week of sharing the gospel) and he said he knows he can't be kind and he really needs Jesus. Which is just about the best answer from a 9 year old. Or anyone.
He held firm to his desire to be baptized and was so excited to drive up to church today and see the baptisms going on! Without any of his usual shyness or reservations he walked right up and made sure we knew how to make it happen. Today.
At the end of the service our pastor prayed and asked for hands raised if anyone wanted to submit their lives to Christ and I totally peeked to watch that little hand go up high in the air. There's not much else that could encourage this mama's heart more.
So then this happened...
raised to life with a big ole' grin :)
There was true JOY in this boy. So we celebrated!
As far as catch up goes, I am not finding a lot of time to blog, or answer emails or phone calls, between all these kids (did I mention we have FOUR now?!) and getting ready for another year of homeschool (did I mention that I am naïvely optimistic and perhaps slightly insane?)... but in a nutshell...
Tess is settling in amazingly well. The boys are all such great helpers and love to carry her around like a pet, or a doll, and most of the time she is a big fan of this plan. She's even learned how to say, "Come on!", as in, "Mason, come on", as she waves him over to play/read books/lift her up to turn the light switches off and on 3,000 times. Mason and Levi are very weak against her feminine wiles and will pretty much do anything she asks them to. Mason finally asked me this morning, "Mom, will you just keep her with you so I can brush my teeth? She wants to play and she's so cute I can't say no."
So we can all see where this is going.
She has dimples. And I have taught her to "say please with a smile" instead of grunting and pointing like she first tried, so now that she can ask sweetly we are all in big trouble.
She has taught the boys about kisses, which sounds totally weird, but I had never thought about the fact that boys don't kiss each other much. Mom and dad, yes, but it's not their usual mode of showing affection. Push you down and sit on you, yes. Kissing? Eww. So when Tess started offering up kisses, Micah especially was a deer in the headlights.
"Micah, she's your sister, it's ok, she loves you." So now he "suffers" through being hugged and kissed. Mason and Levi ask for as many as she'll give. So nighttime goodnights are a bit more delayed.
And Joe... Joe was the big prayer request after being totally rejected in Ethiopia... even in the 20+ hours of travel from Ethiopia back home, the only time she cried was when he tried to feed her a raisin, and when I went to the bathroom. But now... she still feels most comfortable with me and I'm the one rocking her and giving her the bottle before nap and bed, but otherwise Joe can hold, hug, feed, and kiss her, and she gives kisses right back. So that big prayer was answered.
Even Millie is getting a little bit of love these days.
So that's all for now; next week we start school so you can pray for my sanity and for us to find and settle into our new normal!
but before we connect all the dots, some big news for our family!
Mason got baptized today!
We've been having lots of talks lately about how hard it is to be kind (especially to your younger brothers) and how it's actually impossible to be fully kind and that's why we need Jesus, both to empower us through His Spirit to be kind and patient, and to forgive us and cover our sin when we totally blow it. Which we will. Usually within a few minutes of waking up.
Earlier this week, I was making and serving lunch and Mason casually mentioned that he wanted to be baptized again. We baptized him when he was a baby but Joe and I also got baptized as adults when we felt like we were ready to own our faith, so I told Mason that we'd keep talking about it but if he wanted to make his own decision to be baptized at some point we'd fully support that. It's not something we take lightly, so we talked more about it over the week, and got an email the day after the first conversation that our church was holding baptisms this weekend... I didn't even let him know about that, not wanting him to feel rushed or swayed, but I was blown away by the timing of it all. I asked him why, and he said he's been thinking about it for a few months (he's also been sitting with us in service at church where our pastor does a great job every week of sharing the gospel) and he said he knows he can't be kind and he really needs Jesus. Which is just about the best answer from a 9 year old. Or anyone.
He held firm to his desire to be baptized and was so excited to drive up to church today and see the baptisms going on! Without any of his usual shyness or reservations he walked right up and made sure we knew how to make it happen. Today.
At the end of the service our pastor prayed and asked for hands raised if anyone wanted to submit their lives to Christ and I totally peeked to watch that little hand go up high in the air. There's not much else that could encourage this mama's heart more.
So then this happened...
raised to life with a big ole' grin :)
There was true JOY in this boy. So we celebrated!
As far as catch up goes, I am not finding a lot of time to blog, or answer emails or phone calls, between all these kids (did I mention we have FOUR now?!) and getting ready for another year of homeschool (did I mention that I am naïvely optimistic and perhaps slightly insane?)... but in a nutshell...
Tess is settling in amazingly well. The boys are all such great helpers and love to carry her around like a pet, or a doll, and most of the time she is a big fan of this plan. She's even learned how to say, "Come on!", as in, "Mason, come on", as she waves him over to play/read books/lift her up to turn the light switches off and on 3,000 times. Mason and Levi are very weak against her feminine wiles and will pretty much do anything she asks them to. Mason finally asked me this morning, "Mom, will you just keep her with you so I can brush my teeth? She wants to play and she's so cute I can't say no."
So we can all see where this is going.
She has dimples. And I have taught her to "say please with a smile" instead of grunting and pointing like she first tried, so now that she can ask sweetly we are all in big trouble.
She has taught the boys about kisses, which sounds totally weird, but I had never thought about the fact that boys don't kiss each other much. Mom and dad, yes, but it's not their usual mode of showing affection. Push you down and sit on you, yes. Kissing? Eww. So when Tess started offering up kisses, Micah especially was a deer in the headlights.
"Micah, she's your sister, it's ok, she loves you." So now he "suffers" through being hugged and kissed. Mason and Levi ask for as many as she'll give. So nighttime goodnights are a bit more delayed.
And Joe... Joe was the big prayer request after being totally rejected in Ethiopia... even in the 20+ hours of travel from Ethiopia back home, the only time she cried was when he tried to feed her a raisin, and when I went to the bathroom. But now... she still feels most comfortable with me and I'm the one rocking her and giving her the bottle before nap and bed, but otherwise Joe can hold, hug, feed, and kiss her, and she gives kisses right back. So that big prayer was answered.
Even Millie is getting a little bit of love these days.
So that's all for now; next week we start school so you can pray for my sanity and for us to find and settle into our new normal!
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