Awake At 30

Father's Love There are aspects about God that we gain a better insight into when we take on certain roles in life. We gain a perspective that we didn't quite fully grasp before; something within our minds and hearts just seems to click and we say, "Oh...So that's what that Scripture means." Or, "Ok, now I get it." Or perhaps even greater, "What love God has shown!" I can certainly think of no greater example of this than having your child born into this world. The love like no other we feel for that newborn baby, the natural instinct we seem to have in caring for them -those things we never knew how to do which now suddenly become second-nature to us (like swaddling or comforting a crying child)- the overwhelming and boundless love we have for that sweet child staring back at us. The love we have for them that causes us as parents to glow from within and which gives us a smile like we've never had before. There's just something about

Emerson, it's about 6:30am, on the day of your birth. Your mother and I are so excited to see you in person and finally meet you. We already love you and we'll continue to do so as long as we shall live. It is our goal to teach you what love is, who God is, and how God is love. It's now about 7:48am and we're headed to the operating room to have a C-section and pull you out of Mommy's tummy. Mommy is a bit nervous (I am a little bit, too), but we prayed and we've laid it all at God's feet, son. We'll teach you how to do this, and the Scripture is true when it says: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:4-7 NKJV

We're less than 24 hours away from welcoming our son into this world. One question we have been asked alot is, "Are y'all excited?" or, "Are y'all ready?" Or some derivation of those. My response has been, of course, "yes...and no" or more recently as the reality of it all hits me like a freight train, "I'm (we're) equal parts terrified and excited." As we have discussed the topic of bringing a child into the world with many parents, that answer (terrified/excited) gets a knowing nod or "I know exactly what you mean." Of course, welcoming our son into this world, raising him, and teaching him about God and our role in life with respect to Him is an exciting, but serious, responsibility. The gravity of all it means to be a parent has hit Erin and me like a ton of bricks and we have discussed our plans for our son, and for ourselves as parents, at length many times. When we think of our responsibilities, it can tend

A Father's Provision Erin and I have been working on a registry for things that we need/want for Emerson. It's difficult at times to build a registry like this because we really have no idea what he'll need when it comes to much of this stuff. If it weren't for all of the articles and books Erin and I have both read (we tend to heavily research just about everything - get ready Emerson) and the conversations we've had with other parents then we wouldn't know what to get for him...maybe. I think part of the reason we have a little trouble with it all is that we have spent plenty of time talking about how we plan to raise him, thoughts of discipline, proper study and teaching, being who we need to be as a family in each of our roles, and various other weighty topics; however we haven't spent just a great deal of time discussing bouncy chairs, strollers, baby bath seats, etc. We just haven't really devoted much time to the "stuff" that one wo

Overcoming The Odds Soon our son, Emerson, will be born into this world. Naturally, how we are to raise him is in our thoughts daily; as his father, being charged to raise him "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord", so many lessons I intend to teach him flood to my mind. One such lesson is how to deal with discouragements; how to counter the thoughts (within oneself, or implied/spoken by others) offered up to tell you that you cannot do something which God instructs we are to do. How he is to conduct himself when the odds seem to be against him or when the road looks dreary and the way tough. How to gather the strength, daily, to walk the difficult way ( Matt.7:13-14 ). As Christians we might be viewed by the world as the ultimate underdogs. It would seem that way to most, considering the choices we make and the stands we take. But isn't that one of the beauties of being a Christian? With God we can overcome such seemingly insurmountable odds! We love un

Cold It's no secret that it's cold out, tis the season. I prefer not to complain about the weather, though. To me, complaining about the weather is fruitless, there's just no value in such a thing; complaining about weather amounts to wasted words, and with the limited time we have on this earth, who honestly has the time to waste on empty words -- maybe it's just me, but shouldn't we have something more to offer those around us than stating the obvious about the weather ( Jms.4:14 )? After all, hasn't experience taught us that we have cause to expect such cold, considering the season? It's almost comical to me how we as people react to weather. Why do we act so shocked that, <gasp>"IT'S COLD!!"...yes, yes it is friend...it's winter. :-) Call me strange, but I actually enjoy the cold; there's just something beautiful about it. There are many reasons I enjoy the cold, but there is one reason that is above all others: I enj