Every Toddler's Dream

It must be every toddler's dream to have a wall like this.

Life Learning Laundry

My poor 5 year old is learning how to do laundry.
His. Yes. His.
A boy.
Male.
My son is learning how to do his own laundry. This is a typical five year old boy. He has a strong dislike for anything relating to soap and water on his person. Yet here he is, helping me clean his clothes.

Easter and God's Covenant Promises Fulfillment for Little Ones

Today is the (western church's) most happy day of the year for many Christians. It is Easter. Resurrection Sunday. The day in which we celebrate the crushing of the serpent's head, the triumph of the perfect slain lamb of God. I started musing last night how to tie it together for my 5 year old. I have many friends who adore the Jesus Storybook Bible. For good reason. I love it too. Today though I was looking for something that wrapped up all God's promises in the OT and showed kids as young as T how God fulfilled them. Enter the Big Picture Story Bible from David Helm.

I love some of these comments. "God promised that one day someone would come and crush Satan's power..." "Do you know what the flood teaches us? God will judge every single person who rejects Him as king. And do you know what God's judgment teaches us? Every single person needs God's blessing...""his promise was big, and Abraham's faith in God's promise was big too...""the blood of the lamb was God's great sign" "God did keep his promise to Abraham!...God gave this great nation his good word...""Then. God surprised David...someone from David's family would live forever as God's king...and bring God's blessing to all the peoples of the earth..."

So here in a child's book we have it.Many years ago, God promised, when sin first entered the world, he would send someone who crush Satan's rule. Satan would try to harm/stop, but this Seed would triumph. Then God sent a flood, but an Ark kept Noah safe just as Jesus keeps His people safe from God's judgment. Afterwards god sent a rainbow as a sign of his promises. Abraham was promised many descendants, people who would be God's own. One of these would bless the rest. In Moses' day an angel of death came through the land. To stay safe people had to kill an innocent lamb, dip leaves from a certain tree in its blood and paint it over the door. The angel of death saw the blood and skipped the house. The blood of the lamb saved people from death. Later. God set up a sacrificial system, and gave his people a law to keep (which they couldn't) In David's day God promised a forever king.Years later, Jesus was born. And the magi came to worship the forever king. The shepherds came to see the lamb of God.
Jesus grew up, being the spotless lamb. He never did or thought or said anything wrong.
Now fast forward to Easter and The Big Picture Story Bible again.

The chapter on Jesus' death leaves the followers scared and wondering why he died and is still death, whether he was really the forever king promised to David, whether he was really the one who would crush Satan and sin, or bless everyone on earth. Then Jesus over the next several pages is revealed to have risen again. God's promises are explained. "He showed them many pictures that proved he must die to pay the penalty for sin."

He obeyed God's law perfectly.
I can't. Sometimes I don't want to. Even as a believer. That's how powerful sin's grip is on humanity.
He died. The spotless lamb. Death/judgment passed over His people. Over me. Over everyone who He calls and who calls on His name.

 He was/is the ark, saving people from God's wrath. God's wrath is terrifying. All I can say is, "Thank you!" And it doesn't seem like enough of a response. He took God's wrath instead of us. We find our refuge in him.

He is the one through whom the nations are blessed. His promise wasn't to one nation. Nations. Plural. I am living proof of that with my ancestry; I am so thankful he blesses the nations, plural.

Satan thought he stopped him when he was crucified, but Jesus arose and crushed death/sin/Satan. Now Jesus is God's forever king.

Christ is risen from the dead
Glorious day we celebrate
Death has no power over Him

Allelujah!

He is risen!

Just Like Mama

A dry brush. An empty tray. A 14-month-old just wants to do everything Mama does.

Reflections: Newborn Crying

There are few sounds more shrill than a newborn's cry.

Often those first three months are deemed the hardest.

You have very little sleep. If it's your first you probably have more than if you have older kids. On top of hardly any sleep you are recovering from birth. Then there's the whole figuring out what baby needs on top of your own needs.

Here's a tiny new human.  Totally helpless. Your responsibility.  Unable to communicate except by crying and wow can it cry. Frequently and furiously.  Sometimes a new parent may be so frustrated trying to figure out what this shrill shrieking means.

Diaper? No. Baby is dry.
Ok then. How about cold?
No again.
Hot? Strike three.
Hungry? A few sucks but obviously not hungry.
Well let's rock or bounce while crying on the phone or babycenter's boards for a sympathetic ear.

Newborn days are hardest you may reassured.
If you can't calm baby, baby is dry and full just step back. Get a cup of tea and realize sometimes newborns just cry.
That's what experienced moms all seem to say.

I've heard it many times over.

Then suddenly you hear a little toot toot! Baby's now ok.
Well. If only you'd known baby was gassy. They're so right. Newborn days are hard.

Yet few people seem to realize some of these confusing cries may actually mean something.  The cries may have similar sounds. They may start out quiet and grow intense rapidly when you don't magically know what baby needs. I've been in stores before as I've watched a mom hover over her precariously balanced car seat on the shopping cart trying to figure out what baby wants. Depending on the newborn's cry I've found myself wanting to run up and say "He's just hungry. She needs help sleeping. " Not always as I get further from the newborn stage again but it does happen.
I think 4 months up the crying for both F and T was more difficult to discern than the newborn stage.

Before T was born I bought books and films. Some were better than others. My top three had to do with being in tune to baby. One of those was by a musician with a photographic memory for sound.  She has isolated five basic sounds newborns make based on their needs. S and I started applying it in the hospital with T. It was great.  Even with a very fussy baby. Worked well until baby began playing with sound. Four years later when F was born (a very different, happier personality) we applied Dunstan Baby Language again. More success. 

You can bet if we are blessed with a third child we will be listening for these five universal cries.