a combination of things...

I am so tired. Who knows why I'm blogging. I felt like it. That's a good reason, right? 

Its been a good week. A very busy, full-of-non-stop-activity week, but a good week nonetheless. 

The sun was out all week long, bringing with it, some higher than normal temps. So we enjoyed lots and lots of outdoor play. We visited some new parks - all of them were BIG hits with us. I love the age appropriate parks; good toys for Ethan to climb on, great ones for Rachel and smaller, baby like playgrounds for Kara. Its always nice when I can sit and relax a bit while they all 3 play away. Although, Kara prevents me from doing that too much, because even though there's playgrounds built just for her age level, she must conquer the big kid slides. So I end up chasing her around, keeping myself from having heart failure the whole time. I'm convinced she'd never really jump off the edge of a high up playground, but then I worry that the one time I trust her to not do something like that... she will. 

I think Mercer Island might be our new favorite spot. We live about 20 minutes away and its a town that was built in the middle of the bridge that gets you from our side of town into Seattle. Such a beautiful town (I'm sure its way too expensive for most people to even think about living there) and I love how everything looks historical. Hard to explain. Its just so beautiful and everywhere you look, you catch glimpses of Lake Washington, which I would describe as "a much larger version of Lake Tahoe." Is that weird? I don't know how else to describe it. 

Ethan gets very captivated by nature. He reminds me of me when we drive in the car. He notices everything out his window (which, in turn, makes him excellent with direction!) and he is easily enamored with all things nature. He loves clouds; loves deciding what they look like when they're in those funky shapes. He loves the rain. Talks about how it makes him feel like the earth is getting watered and isn't thirsty anymore, so he feels happy when it rains. Good thing for him, we moved to a State that (typically) gets lots of rain. He loves the water. LOVES the ocean, big lakes, rivers, streams. Any type of "body" of water and he's ooing and awing the whole time. 

Today he said to me "Mommy, don't you think God is very good because he didn't have to make the earth look so beautiful... but He did anyway!" Wow. Yes! Exactly right. 

We talked about how those things reflect who God is. The rain is sent to literally "water the earth" and in turn, gives us so many more things to enjoy. 

The sun comes out to help those things grow and to keep us growing and happy :) and then everything else is there for our enjoyment. The beautiful, snow topped mountains, the waves crashing in the ocean, the lakes, rivers, streams and brooks... they're all serving a purpose and they're very beautiful to look at and enjoy. God IS good. I love that my 5 year old reminds me of these things. I asked Ethan "do you think God would still be good even if those things weren't so beautiful?" and he said "well, yes... He didn't have to make them so beautiful. But He did and its what always makes me remember that He IS so good." 

Hmmm... how easily my adult brain forgets the simplicity of it all. 

We heard Dr. John Piper preach in church a few weeks ago and his sermon feels glued to my brain. I think its been 3 weeks now and I still think about it all the time. That's good, I'm not complaining. It just amazes me how God uses mere men, to preach His word so faithfully and leave those footprints of His goodness all over our hearts. I love when I hear a sermon on Sunday and throughout the week, I can feel the Lord really impressing it upon my heart. The title of Piper's sermon was Be Killing Sin, Or Sin Will Be Killing You. 

Here is the part that I have personally been mulling over this past week. The part that has brought me to tears over the past few weeks; just remembering afresh what God has done for me. What He's given me and how He's made me His child, an heir to His eternal Kingdom.

"This is the heart of Christianity....We become christians by embracing and receiving Christ, trusting in Christ, treasuring Christ. And in that faith we are united in Christ. His death becomes our death, so that our punishment is over and His righteousness {perfection} becomes our perfection, because we are united now with him. And His sonship with the Father becomes our sonship with the Father; in him we're adopted into the Father's family... and that happens in an instant by faith alone, that union with Christ. And then, what's left? A life! but not a life that makes God on my side, but flows from the fact that HE put Himself on my side. Not that it makes me justified but its the effect of justification. Not that it makes me reconciled but its the fruit of reconciliation. And that's a magnificent statement of the gospel from Romans through Wilberforce. (a man he quoted earlier in his sermon)

How can my life, my doing, be fruit and not root. The fruit of the tree of justification and not the root of justification. The fruit of God being on my side, rather than the root of making God be on my side. How can it be the fruit of the Holy Spirit so that I'm acting in the power of another and not in my own power. This is a great mystery." 

That's only in the first 15 minutes of his sermon! There's so much more... it was so rich and deep, full of God's truth. Such an encouraging and convicting sermon. I love sermons that remind me what this life is all about. Who gets the glory at the end of the day. Jason and I every week thank God for providing us this place to Worship Him. One of our biggest areas of sadness when we moved, was leaving our church back in CA. God had richly blessed us there and I especially was afraid we'd not find a place where we could be blessed and so refreshed and reminded of who God is and what His will is for us. We are so thankful for yet another example of how the Lord always provides. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and all will be opened to you." 

The Lord truly provides. Not always what we wanted, not always when we want it. But He is faithful to give us what we need, when we need it. I told Rachel to let go of the handle bars and I would catch her. She had like a 2 foot drop. It wasn't much at all. But she couldn't see it. She felt way up high and thought the fall would kill her, apparently. I was right there and could see exactly how it would all play out. She would let go, I would put my arms out and she would naturally fall back into them. Simple. Or was it? I stood there for 5 minutes, telling her it was okay. Telling her she didn't need to worry, I wasn't going to drop her -- "I'm much bigger than you and I am right here close to you - its not a long drop. Just let go and you'll see." When she finally did, she was so happy; so proud of herself and proud of me for keeping my word and knowing what I was talking about :) 

Sadly though, she got 2 blisters, from grasping too tightly to the handle bar. Last night, one of the blisters popped and she was telling me how she got them when she wasn't trusting that I could catch her. As she spoke, I suddenly realized how simple and easy her situation seemed and yet, how often do I do this with God, who is far greater, stronger and all knowing than me?! :) Wow. I so often feel like God should fix, undo, re-do or take back what He's laid out for me... but instead of fighting Him and getting "blisters" over it (so to speak) I need to be trusting; remembering that He is God and I am not. 

Yeah... its been a good, full week. I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday and hoping Kara wakes up looking well enough to go to church. I miss being there. Its been 2 weeks now. Jason is on his way home from work and for us, the weekend is just getting started. Hope the ending to yours is wonderful. 

I'll leave you with another Piper quote from that sermon... "live your life in the power that God supplies, so that the end of the day you're not the center piece God is the center piece of the people that have been watching."