Ten on Tuesday

1. Michael and I are looking a really busy January. He is working Saturdays just to keep up. He has 3 trade shows in January. He will be gone in Atlanta the entire last week of January. More on that later.

2. I'm contemplating getting family pictures taken this spring. We've not had family photos since I was pregnant with Sabrina. Any suggestions for family photos in St. Louis with kids our kids' ages.

3. We've taken down the Christmas tree, but not finished putting away all the decorations. My goal is MLK weekend!

4. My 4 hours of sleep from Saturday night is really catching up with me. I'm a touch crabby and trying to hide it.

5. I've been studying a small bit on missionaries that go to Islamic nations. It's no surprise that this has been a much debated topic for centuries. I read an two contrasting positions on the topic. Charles Foster writing in 1845 said that we shouldn't hold Mohammad to the standard of Christ, but rather Moses. I found this argument a complete fallacy. Why should we not compare Mohammad to Christ? He is the standard by which we are all compared; therefore, we all fall short because of Christ's standard of perfection. Without his sinless divinity, there would be no gracious salvation. Romans reminds us "there is no distinction [among people]: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Moses was judged by the standard of Christ, therefore; so should Mohammad. Just a little something deep for y'all.

6. Samantha has been playing a game she had as a kid with the children. I don't remember the name of it, but it has to with fantasy monsters and ambushes and my kids love it. Sabrina gets bored of it and walks away about half way through.
7. Chase typically is quite grouchy when I pick him up from school. I don't know why this is and bothers me; however, I am not responsible for his attitude, and I can't really change it. But today he hopped in the car and said, "I'm in such a good mood I want to tell you all about my day and all my others days!"

8. We've decided Chase is not going to participate in chess tournaments this year. With what our January is like (it' s only 6 weeks) and having a 4-month-old, it's just a bit much. But I grieve a bit for him. Being an only child until I could drive (yes my sister just graduated from high school), sometimes it's hard for me to make choices where one child has to sacrifice for the good of the family. I know he's only 7, and he has many years left to compete, but it's hard for me to ask him to give up an opportunity.

9. Sabrina is totally into Fancy Nancy books. We have to read Fancy Nancy everyday. Sabrina can tell you that a fancy word for shiny is iridescent and aubergine is a fancy word for purple. Also that RSVP means "Répondez s'il vous plaît" or please reply.



10. Stuart is really learning how to read. Chase was so different. He could read a book by himself without help at 3 1/2. Stuart is 5 1/2 and his journey to literacy has been so different. His education is such a group effort! And in some ways, more satisfying because of the greater effort. But it is just as exciting to listen to him struggle with a word and finally succeed!

Just a bonus picture

Life in the Spirit Leads to a Missional Home

Hopefully my title will hint to me—and any of the rest of you who read this crazy recording of events in the Whitmer household—that this entry isn't typical for this blog. Also, this is a long one. I do have to lay some of the blame squarely at the feet of Michael for insisting that I write this blog.

I've been praying for the salvation of my children since they were doing somersaults in amniotic fluid. I pray lots of other things for my children, but salvation was one of the first things I started praying. [I will include a couple resources on prayer at the end] Before this summer began, I was asking God for some goals for the summer, for him to direct our activities that would fill the long days of summer without school. During that time of prayer, I felt like I should pray specifically for Chase's salvation this year. So, I've been praying that.

Yesterday, I wanted to put everyone down for a nap, even though Chase doesn't really take naps anymore. We 'rest'; basically, that's so I can have 30 minutes of silence during the day! Anyway, I felt like the Holy Spirit told me to keep Chase up and chat with him about the Gospel. Now, I was tired. I wanted to nap! Nevertheless, I strongly felt the Holy Spirit saying, "Keep him up and talk with him."

So I did. We both settled into different books to read for a bit and then I asked him about his memory verse for VBS today. 1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." He recited it (the kid has an amazing memory!) and we talked about the different facets of the verse.
Who died? Jesus
For what? for our sins
For whom? all
Who's all? all people
What does righteous mean? being perfect to God
Who is righteous? Jesus
Who is unrighteous? Chase immediately said, "Me!" I had to bite my tongue to not say "amen!"
How many times did he die? just once
Why did he die? To bring us to God
Why does Jesus have to bring us to God? Because we have sinned and Jesus is the only one who is perfect. Chase remembered some verses he's memorized John 14:6 & Romans 3:23 He used their meanings in our chat!

Lest you have a Rockwellian vision of this discussion—the child is in his boxer briefs, squirming all over and I'm talking to his bum more that his face. He's got his books piled on a upside down laundry basket, kicking them off and then asking why they're are falling off. Yet, despite this body language, he listening and answering and engaged in the conversation!

So then I read him Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

We started talking about that verse. Basically we believe in our heart first and then say what we believe with our mouth. So I asked Chase if he'd like to do that. I would pray with you if you want to make Jesus Lord, the boss of your life. Do you want to do that?

I know you're all waiting with baited breath, but he said no. I told him that if you ever want to, Mommy & Daddy will pray with you anytime. And then once you do, you can be baptized. He got very excited about that and so then he had a lot of questions about baptism. I asked again, and he thought for a second and said, "No. Not yet." So then we went on with our day, reading and playing and stuff. And then went on to a very frustrating evening with Michael working late and a leadership meeting, but that's another story!

But here's the point. Jesus said in Acts 1:8 "You will receive power when the Spirit comes on you, to be my witness in Jerusalem..." My children are my closest 'Jerusalem'. My preaching to them is mostly with my life because I spend more time with them than anyone else. Yet, yesterday, I listened to the Spirit, and by His grace, obeyed, and I received power—not just in the form of energy, because remember, I wanted to nap—but in words to communicate the amazing truth of Justification & Salvation in Christ to a 5 year old boy whom God has given me the amazing privilege to care for. Our mission, the mission of the church, is to make disciples. I don't want to neglect a lost world for the sake of my children, but it is just as much of a shame to neglect my children for the sake of a lost world.

What now? I keep asking to be filled with the Spirit so that I will glorify Jesus in my life and I keep praying for God to open the eyes of my children's heart, that they will be connected to Jesus; then that they too, will be filled with the Spirit to connect people to Jesus.


Resources that I have found helpful and have influenced my thinking on prayer:
John Lanferman's Message on Prayer 27 July 08
Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
The Most Important Place on Earth by Roger Wolgemuth