Sunrise

It is around 6:00 a.m. as I am having my morning prayer time, pouring out my heart to God, worried about this world that my son will grow up in.  Another decision has been made that goes against God’s plan.  Gay marriage has been legalized in Texas, a judge overruling the will of the people.

I look outside.  The sun has not yet fully risen¸ and the world is suspended between light and darkness, and I have a vision of our country in this same condition.  We are mostly shrouded in darkness now, but there is still enough light to see by.  I see this light as representing the Christians who hold onto their faith in spite of the growing darkness.

And I wonder, is our country on the verge of a sunset, or of a sunrise?  Will the years ahead bring total darkness, or will the light return?

I can see us going either way, but the only way I see the light breaking through is if Christians bind together and stand up for what is right in God’s eyes.  We must stand against these forces of evil that seem to be overtaking our country.  We must elect leaders who fear God and seek to do His will.  We must teach the gospel to our children so they can be lights in the next generation. And we must pray like we’ve never prayed before, that the forces of evil will be broken, that we will see a revival in this country.

It’s not about making more laws.  We see the powers that be trying to save us by forbidding us to do wrong: by taking away our guns, by not allowing us to discriminate against others, by not selling food that is harmful to our bodies and other regulations that seem good on the surface, but something is missing that laws can never replace: a change of heart.  Unless this nation turns back to God, no regulations are going to save us.

As I look out the window, the darkness is slowing giving way to the light of day.  The sun is rising.  Soon the light will overtake the darkness.  And it gives me hope -- hope that maybe this will happen in our country as well.  Oh, how I pray that it will.

Thirty-Nine Months Old

I'm still here!  I've just been grossly neglecting my blog lately,  I've been caught up in doing my family tree on Ancestry.com, which has been sucking up most of my computer time, but now I have cancelled my subscription, at least temporarily, so I can get on with the rest of my life.

Don's new job is going fairly well, though it's hard work.  He comes home exhausted in the afternoons, but he's thankful to have a job.  His new schedule has been a bit of an adjustment for all of us; I'm trying to get up with him at 5:00 a.m., which involves going to bed earlier, which involves getting Cooper to bed earlier, which involves starting earlier to get him ready for bed . . .  Plus, Don has to work every other weekend, which has been kind of hard.  Hopefully at some point this will change so that at least he can be off on Sundays.  It does make us all really cherish the Sundays when we get to go to church together as a family, though.

It's been a pretty rough winter, weather-wise, at least by Nashville standards.  We had some of the coldest temperatures we've had in several years (and a really expensive electric bill) and very little relief from the cold, dreary days.  We had ONE nice, sunny day recently, last Saturday.  Thankfully, it was Don's Saturday off of work, and we all went to the park together.

Cooper got a little guitar with some of his Christmas money and has been "playing" it all the time:

He's playing it right-handed here, but most of the time he has it upside down and plays it with his left hand.  We think he's left-handed.

He's finally mostly potty trained!  Well, at least during the day.  That has been quite a journey, involving a lot of frustration, bribery, dramatic celebrations, and more, but I'm thankful we seem to have made it.

He got his first "real" haircut a couple of weeks ago (I'd been cutting it myself).  He did great, and afterward we went to Cici's next door for lunch.

We went to "Discovery Center" one day with my mom, a local museum sort-of-thing for young children.  Cooper had a great time!

We're still doing Community Bible Study (this picture was taken by his teacher)

and MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).  I met another 47-year-old mom there!  She has a 4-year-old boy.  We've gotten together a couple of times for play dates, and Cooper and her little boy have hit it off as friends.  I'm so thankful to have someone that I feel like I can relate to.

Thankfully, other than at Christmastime, we've all stayed fairly healthy this winter.  I'm believing that spring is just around the corner (at least I hope it is!), and I'm starting to think about what I'm going to plant in my garden this year.  I can't wait to get to go outside without bundling up, and to feel the warm sunshine on my face!