Friday Fun: Crazy Things Kids Do and Say

After a week of digging into The Trinity, I thought we would have a little Friday Fun.  Of course I think that digging into doctrine is fun, but I am just a nerd like that!  Have you ever had an experience as a mom when you said or did something that you NEVER thought you would?  It seems like I have been having a lot of things happen lately.  

-The scene looked like this.

We were 95% potty trained on the little potty but refused to go on the big potty and refused to go in a pull-up if we were away from home. We were at a restaurant and he said he needed to potty, so I took him to the bathroom to see if we could overcome the fear of the big potty.  He was dancing around so I knew he really needed to go.  He screamed when I tried to sit him on the potty and it was way too tall for him to try and stand. I looked to the right of the potty and there was a trash can that was just the right height.  Yep.  I did it.  I let him pee pee in the trash can.  Since then, he thought standing up was cool and we are 100% little potty free.  Go figure.

-The conversation goes a little bit like this.  

D: “Look mom, a booger.”  

Me: “I see that buddy.  We don’t need to put our finger in our nose, but since you did, go   ahead and put it in the trash.”

D: “Okay momma, that’s a great idea.”  

Me: (I see him walk away and put the booger in his ear!) “D- we do not put our finger in our nose and we do NOT put boogers in our ears!”

Seriously, we have had this conversation more times than I want to admit! What in the world made him think that is where they go?????

So, tell me your story!  What have you said or done that you never in a million years thought you would ever do? 

Exploring the Trinity: Part 4 The Holy Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives?

Salvation

We talked earlier this week about the role that the three members of the Trinity play in salvation. The Holy Spirit’s work in salvation is to call a sinful, spiritually-dead person into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Sanctification

Have you ever wondered that if all three members of the trinity are fully God, which means they are holy, why is the Spirit the only one that has the word “holy” in front of their name? Is it because the Spirit is more holy than the Father or the Son? 

The Spirit is holy, but no more than the Father or the Son. Perhaps it is called the Holy Spirit because one of the main works of the Holy Spirit is to make us holy by acting as a sanctifier in our lives.

“But just as the he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ ” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Theologian R.C. Sproul defines sanctification as the process of being made holy or righteous. (2) The Holy Spirit aids in the process of believers becoming more holy. We must also participate. 

Counselor

The word helper can also mean “comforter” or “counselor.” These words come from the Greek word paraclete. In the ancient world, a paraclete was someone summoned to give assistance or help in the court of law. The Holy Spirit fulfills the role of paraclete in a believer’s life in a couple of different ways.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever ... the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all of these things and will remind you of everything I said to you.” John 14:26

Intercessor

The Holy Spirit helps in our prayers. When we don’t know what to say or how to say it, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. When we refer to the Holy Spirit as a paraclete, this also shows us that the Holy Spirit is a comforter. 

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness! We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words can not express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27

Power

It is because of the Holy Spirit that we as believers have the power to be a witness for Jesus Christ and share the Good News of the Gospel message.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

We may be tempted to think of the Holy Spirit as a power or force, but the Holy Spirit is the third PERSON of the Trinity whom we can have a real relationship with.

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

It goes against our human logic to think about a relationship with anything named “Spirit,” but as the third PERSON of the trinity, it is possible! The Holy Spirit is a real, powerful person. 

We only covered a few of the roles or ways that the Holy Spirit is present in our lives. The verses below list additional ways the Holy Spirit impacts our lives.

Isaiah 44:3, Mark 13:11, John 7:37-39, Acts 1:5, 8, Romans 8:9-11, Romans 8:14, Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 2:10-14, Titus 3:5-7, 1 Peter 1:2

Source

Questions to Ponder:

What is present in my life that is hindering the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit?

Will I stop viewing the Holy Spirit as a power or force and see the Holy Spirit as the powerful third PERSON of the Trinity? Will I spend time cultivating that relationship?

Scripture Memory

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have been working on Scripture memory with D.  We decided to start with, Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  He is very excited to share his "berse" with you, so you might take that as a WARNING to turn your speakers down!

1:41 PM

90% of the time, this is what my living room floor looks like.  My boy loves his trains!

Exploring the Trinity: Part 3 The Son

Who is Jesus? What do we know about Him? What was His role? We may often think of Jesus in a manger or on the cross, but we know less about Him as our high priest/mediator and the incarnate Word of God. 

From Scripture we know that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-23) and that He perfectly revealed and did the will of God when He took upon himself human nature and lived His life without sin. We know that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and that no other human has lived a perfect life and met every requirement of God’s law. By fulfilling His purpose and coming to earth in human form, He was able to become a sacrifice for our sin. 

You may have heard the term High Priest, also called an advocate or mediator. Jesus serves as our High Priest before the Father. He mediates before the Father and explains that we are worthy because of His sacrifice.

When we say that Jesus is the Incarnate God, we are saying that Jesus, who is God, took on a human nature. Just like it is hard to think about each member of the Trinity being fully God and yet there is one God, it is hard to think that Jesus was fully human and fully God. Although it is hard to wrap our human minds around this truth, it is a very encouraging and comforting truth in our Christian life.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

 “‘He will command his angels concerning you, 

 and they will lift you up in their hands, 

 so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

I know what you are thinking … of course it was easy for Jesus not to sin, He is God! Although Jesus is fully God and fully man, when He faced temptation, He faced it in the same manner as you would. He faced it as a human. Jesus didn’t overcome temptations in a divine way, but used the same outlets that you as a believer have to overcome temptation: the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Each time that Satan came at Him with an attack, Jesus used specific Scripture to respond. Jesus did not use anything to overcome Satan’s temptations that a believer today does not have access to. 

Source

Questions to Ponder:

How do I view Jesus? Do I view Him only as a baby in a manger or do I view Him God incarnate the second person of the Trinity?

Do I know enough of God’s Word to be able to fend off the attacks of the enemy?

Exploring the Trinity: Part 2 The Father

Source

Does your brain hurt? Has thinking about the greatness and majesty of the Trinity worn you out? Take a breath! We have learned a lot about the mystery of the Trinity in just the first day! 

The doctrine of the Trinity is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. If you feel overwhelmed like you just can’t figure it all out … that’s OK! Our human minds will never be able to fully understand everything about God, including the Trinity, but it does help for us to study this doctrine. It shows us who God is and what He is like. It shows us how we can relate to Him and how He can relate to us. 

Today, we are going to look more in depth at the Father and the roles that each member played in creation as well as the role each plays in a believer’s salvation. 

We learned yesterday that each member of the Trinity is fully God and has all the attributes of God. Each member of the Trinity is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. The only distinction between the members is the ways they relate to each other and to creation. They are “equal in being but subordinate in role.” What exactly does this mean? The Father is the head of the Trinity, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father. The Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Son.

As women, we can’t pass over this truth of the Son and the Holy Spirit being subordinate to the Father without us also talking about how that applies to our marriages. What a great reminder and example to us as women to see this subordinate relationship. It can be seen as a reflection of our marriage relationship. That we as women are equal in being to our husbands but subordinate in role. We can take this lesson one step farther when we look at how Jesus humbled himself when He came to earth. Even though He is the second member of the Trinity, He became subordinate to the Holy Spirit, who was the third member of the Trinity. In His Incarnation, He put himself under the Holy Spirit. He obeyed the Spirit, even to His death on the cross.

Creation:

The members of the Trinity are eternal. There was never a time that they did not exist. Because we know they are eternal, we can know that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were present at creation. Let’s look at each of their activities or roles in creation.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.’ ” Genesis 1:26

God uses the plural verb “us.” Although the word “Trinity” isn’t used here, theologians and church fathers unanimously agree that this plural use of the verb is referring to the Trinity.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him noting was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3

“But in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” Hebrews 1:2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

These passages show us that all three members of the Trinity were present at creation. The Father originated, planned, and directed creation (Genesis 1:1). Jesus was the agent that actually carried out creation (John 1:3 & Hebrews 1:2). The Holy Spirit can also been seen “hovering over the waters” at creation (Genesis 1:2).

Salvation

“For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38

“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” John 3:5-6

The Father planned and directed the way for man to be reconciled to God, or in a simpler way the Father planned and directed salvation for mankind (John 3:16). Jesus was the agent or way that salvation was carried out (John 6:38).The Holy Spirit is given to the believer at salvation (John 3:5-6).

Author Wayne Grudem says this of the Father: “The role of commanding, directing, and sending is appropriate to the position of the father, after whom all human fatherhood is patterned.” How incredible that we can look to the Trinity as a pattern for earthly fatherhood. We can see that the Father is the head of the Trinity, and we can see how He relates to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some of us have had positive experiences with our earthly fathers. We have seen this pattern modeled in our families. Others of us have not had the same experience. We may have had a Father who left us or let us down, but God offers fatherhood to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as the Savior for their sins. 

Questions to Ponder:

Has my view of submission changed after learning about the submission of the Son and the Holy Spirit to the Father? How can I apply this truth about submission to my life?

If you are a Christian, how will you thank your heavenly Father today?

1:20 PM

Loving every minute of getting to watch these two show more interest in each other.  Wonder if I will feel the same way when they start to argue over toys???

Exploring the Trinity: Part 1

Today is our first day to dive into the Trinity.  This post will help explain what we are up to this week.

What is the Trinity?

There isn’t one specific passage in Scripture that spells out what the Trinity is. It can be seen from Genesis to Revelation, and all of Scripture testifies to its truth. We will look at many of these passages this week. I won’t be able to talk about each one, but I do encourage you to take the time to look them up. They build upon what is mentioned here.

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the deep mysteries of God. Whether you are hearing the word for the first time or haven’t heard it since children’s church, it is hard for us to wrap our finite human minds around this deep truth. 

What is the definition of the Trinity? 

 It means that God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God. (1)

What does it really mean to say that God is a Trinity? 

What it means to say that God is a Trinity can be explained by looking at the words essence and person. Essence answers the question “What are you?” Person answers the question “Who are you?” So when can say that God is a Trinity, we are saying that God exists as “one essence” (God) and “three persons” (Father, Son, Spirit). The Trinity is made up of 3 “who’s” and 1 “what.”

How can one person be three distinct persons?

Source

Some may falsely say that God isn’t three distinct persons, but that He plays three different roles and is really the same person. That He just takes on different roles as needed. The Bible clearly indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons.

When we read Mark 1:10-11, we can see the three distinct persons of the Trinity.

“As Jesus (Son) was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit (Holy Spirit) descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. (God the Father)” Mark 1:10-11 NIV

So what does it mean then that the three persons of the Trinity are distinct? It means that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. They are all three distinct from another, yet they are all fully God.

You may be thinking ... how can each part of the Trinity be fully God, yet there is only one God? So maybe each part of the Trinity is one-third of who God is, but God is not a circle you can divide into three parts. All three parts, Father, Son, and Spirit, are 100% God!

I know—it seems that I have lost my mind because it sounds impossible to say that each member of the Trinity can be 100% God. It goes against everything that we have ever learned about math! We can also see this when we look at the character of who God is. We can’t divide God into pieces or percentages.

Incorrect View Correct View

God God

Mercy—10% Mercy—100%

Judge—20% Judge—100%

Love—30% Love—100%

Wrath—40% Wrath—100%

Colossians 1:19 tells us “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him (Jesus).” 

The three persons of the Trinity are fully God. There isn’t a difference in their attributes or essential nature, they are each fully God and have all the attributes of God. Each member of the Trinity is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. The only distinction between the members of the Trinity is in the ways they relate to one another and to creation. They are “equal in being but subordinate in role.” (1) 

Source

Questions to Ponder:

How does the truth that God’s character isn’t something we can divide into equal parts (10% justice, 10% love, etc.) change the way I view Him?

How do I view each member of the Trinity? 

The Trinity

Source

I heard a quote recently that reinforced my desire to study doctrine/theology and have a solid understanding of why I believe what I believe.

“Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.”  John Piper

Last month we started off talking about the reasons to study doctrine and then we began our study with the Authority of God’s Word. This week we are going to take a look at the doctrine of the Trinity. These posts won’t be as easy to read. This doctrine is deep and requires us to pray for a clear understanding. It will probably seem more like you are studying for an exam, but hang in there and learn with me. We don’t want to be wimpy women! We want to be strong women of God. 

Ask God to help give you understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity so that you more fully understand who God is and how you can relate to Him. 

See you tomorrow.

12:02 PM

Rocks + water + little boy = endless fun

7:55 AM

Time to get the Swiffer Out?

Coming Undone

This morning was a heck of a morning.  Who knew so much drama could be packed into two short hours!  Thursday mornings are busy for us.  Hal tries to get out the door by 7.  D has Mothers Morning Out at 8:20 and B and I have BSF at 9.  We had been doing really well getting D to Mother’s Morning Out without much fuss.  Last week BSF started back and our first morning went really well.  Then came the events of today.  I don’t know about you but I am grateful for those times in our relationship with the Lord when He gives you a clear picture of the progress you are making.  This morning was like receiving a big A+ on my report card or at least good remarks for improvement!

I got up early to get my shower.  Hal got D out of bed when he woke up and got him settled.  After my shower, I hurried to get ready and then headed to the kitchen to get Hal’s breakfast and lunch ready.  I would like to say that I have done that for years, but I would be lying.  We are working on eating better, a.k.a we are on a diet, and eating healthy requires preparation!  I got him out the door and headed to finish up my makeup.  D was playing in the bathroom with me tossing his beloved Mr. Bear in the air.  I should have stopped him, but I didn’t.  After a few tosses, it ended up in the toilet.  I retrieved bear from the toilet and let D know that we won’t do that again without consequences.  

Mr. Bear after his bath

Somewhere along the way, B woke up and had part of his bottle.  My normally easy going baby has not been so easy going the last few days.  He wasn’t having any part of the swing, Bumbo, boucny seat, or playmat.  The mobile in his crib pacified him for a few minutes so I could get Drew dressed, teeth brushed, etc.  I then went back in the kitchen to get D’s lunch ready and gobble down some breakfast for myself.  I hear D say from the living room, “Look momma, a Bible,” but don’t think much of it.  A few minutes later, I round the corner from the kitchen to the living room only to see him holding a blue ink pen and making a few additions to the book of Acts.  I ran over to him, grabbed the pen, and disciplined him reminding him that we only write on his coloring books and paper mommy gives him.  I look at the clock and realize that I have about 3 minutes to find my shoes, get B’s bottle ready, get him dressed and get out the door.

The Book of Acts after Drew's addition.

At this point a few years ago or maybe even a few months ago, I would have come completely undone.  I would have thrown a huge pity party/hissy fit, taken D to Mother’s Morning Out, and then pouted my way all the way back home missing Bible Study because I was frustrated and tired, but in the midst of it this morning, I felt strangely calm.  I am sure part of the calm feeling is due to maturing as a mother, but more than that it is maturing in Christ by not allowing my emotions in those moments to overtake and control me, but instead choosing to focus on remaining in control of my emotions and actions.  I must say it felt much better to get in the car, close the garage door, and go on with my day knowing that I had won a battle.  Instead of the nastiness of my sinful nature rising up in me this morning, I was able to see “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” 

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  Galatians 5:16-25

Strength

"So do not fear, for I am with you; 

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  

I will strengthen you and help you; 

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  

Isaiah 41:10

This passage has been constantly in my mind for the last few days.  It is one of the beautiful promises in scripture I can run to and feel like my Heavenly Father is wrapping his arms around me and assuring me that everything will be okay each time I read it.  Hal and I have been praying through a situation that didn't turn out quite like we thought it would.  In a time when we are tempted to doubt the Lord's plan and be frustrated with His timing, this scripture reminds me not to go there.  After all, isn't that what fear is ... doubting the promises and faithfulness of God?  

Keeping the Focus

Daddy and D before bed

Have you ever had one of those days when you get in bed and think ... Did I even speak about God to my kids today? Did I even crack my Bible today? There are days when I am pretty sure we talk about Mickey Mouse and Thomas the Train more than we talk about God. If I were really honest, I would have to admit that those days are the majority around here. I have had great intentions over the last 3 years, but have struggled to follow through. I get caught up in the day in and day out and I get lazy.  God has used several sermons lately to renew our determination to be intentional about teaching our boys who God is and to make sure that we are filling their little minds with the things of God.

-Diaper Change Time: I am at B’s changing table countless times each day, so I used a dry erase marker and wrote scripture on the picture over his changing table.  When we are changing his diaper, we pray the scripture over him and we are memorizing it at the same time.

-TV Time:  I must admit ... Veggie Tales annoy me. I know their message is solid and it is much better than other things out there, but those silly voices drive me crazy!  I have purposely not bought them for D, but I got over it and we now have several DVD’s. I was able to find several of them used and he loves them.  He also loves the Veggie Tale fruit snacks that Kroger just happens to place right at his level! We are also watching Cedarmont Kids videos. He is CRAZY about them and it thrills my heart to hear him signing the songs even when he isn’t watching the video.  

-Memory Verse: We started scripture memory this week.  We are doing Genesis 1:1.  I googled “Creation Color Sheet” and found coloring sheets to go along with the story, so we are going to give that a try.  I rewarded him with jelly beans for potty training and I may just do the same for scripture memory!

-Music: I have tried to continually have praise music playing in the house. I find that my attitude is different when I am singing praises.  It is much harder to be snappy with D, when I have those praises running through my mind and rolling off my tongue!

-Bedtime:  One of my favorite shower gifts when I was pregnant with D was a Bible Story book.  We began reading him Bible Stories and praying over him at night very early on.  His daddy puts him to bed now and they read a Bible Story and pray together.  One of my good friends (and an adopted Aunt to my boys) sent “The Jesus Storybook Bible” when B was born.  We have been using it with big brother and I highly recommend it.  The stories are a little long, so sometimes Hal will take two nights to read a story.  

We are rapidly approaching big brother’s third birthday.  It blows my mind. The last three years have completely flown by. Everyone tells you that it will go fast, but I guess you don’t really have a concept of what that means until you experience it. I am reminded how short my time with him really is. His little mind is such a sponge right now and I want to make sure I am filling it with God so much that it overflows!

What are some things you do to keep Christ the center of your house each day? How do/did you teach your children? How do you keep your focus on the things of God while facing the day in and day out tasks of keeping a home? 

Share your ideas and stories in a comment or email!