My Boy

Just had to say this...

The Lord has blessed with me an amazing Son in Benjamin.  He's exactly the type of boy I always dreamed of having. He is very friendly, easy to get along with, happy, smart and fun to be around. From a very early age, he had a rare type of confidence not typically found in young children. Nothing was too big, too scary, or too difficult to him to tackle. He always had a strong sense of success whether the task was learning to ride a bike, or nailing together wood for building a bridge or a fort. He has an excellent imagination and is full of great ideas on ways to do things better. He is very smart!

Ben is a very loving boy, and has touched many peoples lives through the years. He is also an amazing friend and has a way of humbly relating and getting along with just about anyone. He has an amazing future ahead of him. Someday he is going to be a great husband, father and employee. Many will be blessed by his life.

I love you Ben!

Our Unique Tree

 Six Unique Things About Our Christmas Tree

Instead of decorating our Christmas tree with expensive, delicate ornaments, we like to decorate with simple, fun and even goofy things.  The kids always get a kick out of it, and the tree just feels like home.

#1 - We have rock stars on our tree!

 

 #2 - Kissing Fish???

 

#3 - A monkey wearing shades and eating a banana

 

 #4 - Not sure if this is a self-portrait of my kids, 

or if they were trying to put Mick Jagger

on the tree. :-)

 

#5 - Electric Guitars on our tree

 

#6 - Shyaka, our sponsored child from Rwanda

More than "Meats" the Eye

Benjamin Graham, my second of three children, turned eleven earlier this week, and we've been looking forward to going out for quite some time.  After much thought about where we should go for dinner, Ben finally chose one of our local steakhouses.

Yay! Alright now.. bring on the steaks! I was excited because we're finally past the "Chucky Cheese" stage and now we're dining at places that I can sink my teeth into!  Trust me, we've had our share of kid-friendly restaurants and play-places. My girls were equally excited, especially when they remembered they serve salted peanuts while you wait.

When we finally gathered around the table and the menus were passed out, my kids all decided on things we could have eaten at any fast food restaurant!  Pfffffff.  They could have ordered Filet Mignon, New York Strip, Baby Back Ribs, but instead chose Chicken Tenders, a Cheeseburger, and the other just had a side of Cheese Fries.  Then to top it off, after a few bites they all declared they were full and ready to go!  Ha!  Gotta love 'em!

Well this morning I was thinking about that and it reminds me of how I am sometimes with my Father... 

Why do I settle for the small stuff when God has provided so much more for me.  His word is full of His passion and promises for me.  His desire is for us to take all of Him... to Hunger and Thirst.. to Taste and See... to be sold out.  He desires to spend time with me.  He desires to give me His living waters and bread of life.  The days that I nibble and quickly turn away from Him are the days I settle for "peanuts" instead choice cuts of meat from His word.

Father forgive me for that!  I want it all!  I want all of You!  Forgive me for the times that I was satisfied to barely partake of You.  Forgive me for the times I was satisfied just to spend a few minutes in your presence.

My children chose the same old familiar, every day meal when I was willing to bless them with so much more.  We still had a great time together... they just don't realize what they missed out on.  By the time we made it home, they were already looking for a snack in the cupboard.    Oh! If you were wondering; I ordered a nice slice of Prime Rib, medium with a fully loaded baked potato.  Delicious!  :-)  Enough for dinner and left overs for the next day too!  Yum!