We found out today that Greg did not get into Calvin Seminary's Systematic Theology PhD program. We were a little disappointed, but we also have complete confidence that God's perfect will was accomplished. Greg is excited that in the future he'll be able to get his PhD in Old Testament which is his area of focus. We're also excited to finish the fundraising process and be able to get to Asia soon, and Greg's looking forward to a break from school as he'll be graduating with his Master's of Theology at the end of May!
Each year we do a 12 day countdown to the resurrection. It's very similar in theory to the 25 day advent countdown done at Christmastime. Each day we do a fun Easter activity. Five days into this - so beginning on Palm Sunday, each day we read a passage of Scripture associated with what happened to Jesus that day of the week leading up to Easter Sunday. We use resurrection eggs (made by Family Life) and the enclosed book that comes with it for the Bible readings. We just had to make the readings for "Tear Drops Egg" for Monday and "Money Egg" for Tuesday. (I put the readings for those two eggs near the end of this post.) Our entire family's favorite day is celebrating the Last Supper on Thursday. Abbie has already asked me this month, "When will you and Daddy be washing our feet? When do we get to eat the lamb while we sit on the floor?" It's such a beautiful time. (I put the explanations we share as we eat each item below as well.)
Please feel free to use this countdown with your family! Wednesday, March 16 This morning we will watch the "Greatest Bible Adventures - Easter Story" movie as we enjoy waffles for breakfast. Thursday, March 17 Today we will dye Easter eggs. Friday, March 18 Today we will make Jell-O eggs and watch a “Veggie Tales” Easter movie. Saturday, March 19 Today we will receive a bouquet of fresh spring flowers & read "The Parable of the Lily." Palm Sunday, March 20 – Little Donkey Egg Today we will make Palm Branches and have a "Hosanna" song themed dance party. Monday, March 21 – Tear Drops Egg Today we will do the “You, Sin, & Christ” water activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYQ076BgbGM Tuesday, March 22 – Money Egg Today we will make a craft to remind us to be Jesus’ hands and feet to the world. http://www.craftnhome.com/john-3-verse-16-craft.html Wednesday, March 23 – Silver Coins Egg Today we will play the Jellybean Game. We have trivia cards about the Easter story and each time you get a question correct you earn three jelly beans! Last Supper, Thursday, March 24 – Cup Egg, Praying Hands Egg, Leather Whip Egg & Crown of Thorns Egg Tonight we will celebrate the Passover/Lord’s Supper. Dad and Mom will wash the children's feet. During dinner as we eat each item we will talk about what the roast lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, fruit/nuts/honey mixture, wine, and broken bread meant for the Israelites and what they mean for us today. Good Friday, March 25 – Nails Egg, Die Egg, & Spear Egg Tonight we will attend the Good Friday service at church. Saturday, March 26 – Linen Cloth Egg Today we will make and frost cross sugar cookies to share with friends. Resurrection Sunday, March 27 – Stone Egg & Empty Egg Today we will make Resurrection Rolls for breakfast, receive Easter baskets, attend church, and go on an Easter egg hunt! Tear Drops Egg 41 Jesus came near Jerusalem. He saw the city and began to cry for it. 42 Jesus said to Jerusalem, “I wish you knew today what would bring you peace! But you can’t know it, because it is hidden from you. 43 A time is coming when your enemies will build a wall around you and will hold you in on all sides. 44 They will destroy you and all your people. Not one stone of your buildings will be left on another. All this will happen because you did not know the time when God came to save you.” Luke 19:41-44 (ICB) What do you find inside the egg? Tear Drops. After Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey, He cried for the people of Jerusalem because He knew they would not recognize that He was the promised Messiah who came to save them. In the same way God wants us to cry and repent over our sin. When we do this God forgives us completely. When Christ is poured into our lives our sinful heart is cleansed. Christ is without sin and when He is inside of us then we are made pure too. Money Egg 13 But it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple he found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves. He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging money. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords. Then he forced all these men, with the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of the men who were exchanging it. 16 Then he said to those who were selling pigeons, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling!” 17 When this happened the followers remembered what was written in the Scriptures: “My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.” John 2:13-17 (ICB) What do you find inside the egg? Money Righteous anger is being angry as what makes God angry. Jesus was angry that there were people selling animals and making money in the temple when that place should have been a quiet area of repentance and prayer, however righteous anger is also grieved by evil. Jesus did flip tables in the temple, but he was deeply saddened over the sin that made it necessary and we know this because the day before he cried over the fact that the people of Jerusalem would reject Him. Let’s be angry and cry over the terribly sad things in the world – like children who are slaves and orphans, like people who don’t have food or clean water, like people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ, but let’s allow that anger and sadness to motivate us to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this world! Passover & Lord’s Super Explanations The Jewish people celebrated Passover each year, as God commanded to help them remember how God had brought them out of Egypt. The Passover food helped the Jews remember the exodus from Egypt. This was the meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples on Thursday of the week that he died, but on this night Jesus changed the Passover meal into the Lord’s supper. The bread and wine of the Lord’s supper symbolize how Jesus gave his life for us. Roast Lamb The roast lamb reminded the Israelites of the lamb’s blood on their doorposts and the roast lamb they ate on the night they left Egypt. It now also reminds us that Jesus was the perfect lamb that was sacrificed to give us eternal life. Matzo - Unleavened Bread The unleaved bread reminded the Israelites that they had to hurry when they left Egypt. Grated Romaine Lettuce - Bitter Herbs The bitter herbs reminded them of the bitter years in Egypt. Charoset - Fruit, Nuts, and Honey Mixture The mixture of fruit, nuts, and honey reminded them of the material that that Israelites used to make bricks in Egypt. Wine or Grape Juice The wine is a symbol of Jesus’ blood which was shed on the cross so all our sins could be forgiven. Broken Bread The broke bread is a symbol of Jesus’ body which was broken on the cross so that we could be saved. Greg and 4 other Dad friends took their boys to Monster Jam tonight. Lots of noise, sugar, revving engines, laughter, and testosterone. And apparently "Grave Digger" won - which according to Christian was a grave injustice as "Zombie" should have won. Monster Jam - 24 second video highlights! Today we shared at Libertas Christian School's Elementary Chapel! It was so much fun to share with these little ones about the culture of Thailand. They were amazed that it's always hot in Thailand and many people have never seen snow. They giggled when the saw pictures of Greg eating grubs for a snack. They squealed with excitement when we described Songkran the three day water festival celebrated each April. But most touching of all we saw their little hearts breaking as we described the religion of Buddhism that 95% of the people of Thailand believe. As our time with the children came to close they were eager to take our prayer magnets in order to pray for our family and the people of Thailand. Sometimes it can be easy for us to forget that the prayers of these little ones are just as effective as the prayers of adults. We are so honored that these precious missions minded children have a burden for Thailand and are partnering with us in prayer! This short video shows the amazing impact ABTS is having in India! We are so excited for Greg to be teaching Old Testament classes for ABTS soon! Join us in being part of this incredibly ministry! Thank you so much for all of your prayers for Isaac! We got his test results back and his kidney numbers are good! Praise the Lord! These numbers tell us that at least Isaac’s left kidney is compensating for the shortcomings of the right kidney, so his situation doesn’t appear to be life threatening.
Our next step is a test called a VCUG on Friday, March 18th which will tell us if his bladder is refluxing urine into his kidneys as this may be the cause of the scarring in his small right kidney. He has to be mildly sedated for this procedure. We then meet with a pediatric nephrologist (children’s kidney doctor) on Monday, March 21st to discuss the results. One of our nursing friends who works at the children’s hospital told us our nephrologist is “excellent, smart, amazing, and exactly who I would want” so we’re feeling grateful to have a great specialist soon. Prayer warriors – please lift March 18th and 21st up to our Father! Thank you! Clinging to this promise today. He will lead. One step at a time. One decision at a time. He gently leads those that have young.
We just got off the phone with Isaac’s pediatrician and we're just feeling numb. They’ve discovered that Isaac’s right kidney is abnormally small and has scar tissue on it. We aren’t sure what’s causing the problems with his right kidney at this point. Tomorrow Isaac has to have some more tests done to determine if his left kidney is compensating for his right kidney. If the left kidney is compensating then the situation is still concerning, but not life threatening. Sometime soon Isaac will also need to have a kidney reflux test done which will require him to be sedated - always a little bit scary when they’re so young. Will you please join us in praying for the doctors to find the reason for Isaac’s kidney problems and for complete healing for our little man? Also, prayers for peace and trust for our family would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your love and prayers!
To celebrate Abbie's 7th birthday we had a Barbie Superhero Birthday Party! We made superhero masks and power bracelets, watched the "Barbie Princess Power" movie, and played Barbie superhero games. I love that my precious daughter is super girlie (she loves her pink/purple, dresses, and sparkles) and super strong (she knows she can do anything and wants to be the one to swoop in and save the day)! Happy 7th Birthday Abbie! “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.” -Jesus Over the past few months we've seen a lot of beggars with cardboard signs at stoplights throughout our city (Grand Rapids) and cities we've been visiting while traveling. The many beggars have led to lots of conversations with our children, and even though we've prayed for the beggars as we drove away it wasn't quite sitting with me right that we weren't doing anything for them. I know it's not the best idea to give beggars money, so a few weeks ago we made Blessings Bags. The purpose of a Blessings Bag is to give a beggar tangible help without giving them money. It's a way to meet their immediate needs by providing them with some basic toiletries, water, food, and warmth. We used clear Ziploc bags (so they know exactly what they’re being handed), and enclosed gloves, socks, lotion, chapstick, sanitizing wipes, applesauce (and a spoon), beef jerky, water, and a note that says, “Just because. You matter. Everyone needs help sometimes. Our family is praying for you.”
We’ve kept the bags in our minivan under the front seats, so if we are at a red light or approached by a beggar in a parking lot then we can quickly and easily give the bag to the person. I have to confess that before handing out the bags I was nervous. As I was driving around I thought: How are the beggars going to respond? Are they going to be angry that I’m not giving them money? Are they going to keep badgering me for something more? Are the people in the cars around me going to think I’m ridiculous? All petty selfish thoughts, but they were there so I asked God to give me courage to actually hand out the bags when I saw the beggars. This week God gave us the opportunity to hand out three bags! And I have to tell you – all three times it was a blessing. All three people (two men and one woman) were genuinely touched by the gift. They beamed with joy, doted over the gifts, and said "Thank you!" repeatedly. Not one of them asked for anything more or expressed anything but thankfulness. The first time I was alone. The second time Abbie was with me. The third time Christian was with me and was able to hand the bag to the lady through the widow himself. Both of my children were grinning ear to ear when we drove away from the beggars instead of their usual faces of concern and sadness. They each volunteered to pray for the beggars as we drove away! These blessings bags didn’t just bless the hearts of the beggars, they blessed my family’s hearts too! Jesus' words are so true - "It is more blessed to give than to receive.” So if you have a lot of beggars in your city, consider making Blessings Bags. I guarantee they will bless you too! Blessings Bags Supply List Gallon Freezer Ziploc Bags Gloves Socks Travel Sized Lotion Chapstick Sanitizing Wipes 2 Applesauce Cups Plastic Spoon Bag of Beef Jerky Small Water Bottle Note - "Just because. You matter. Everyone needs help sometimes. Our family is praying for you." |
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