Creighton is adjusting amazingly well....and I thank God everyday as things seem to be as if he has always been here with us. I am so thankful that Creighton is such a good sleeper and eater, it is a true blessing. He doesn't have tantrums as often we have not allowed them to continue. Every time he would start one, we would lift him up off the floor and direct him to another activity, toy or any distraction from whatever was upsetting him. I wasn't sure if the temper was from him being two or from a result of him being adopted, regardless they are not acceptable and had to go away(praise God). Marilyn is growing so much and is finally talking more and more. She remains our little "sunshine" and loves to laugh. Lydia is also growing so fast. I can truly see her personality developing a long with her imagination. They grow up so quickly.
Michael has changed buildings with his job again. They are restructuring information operations and he is chief of a "new acronym"( CIDDID , I think). I have just finished a commissioned piece and I am working on several more. God has laid it on my heart to host an charity art auction in May(
http://www.lovesreach.org/). I would truly be grateful for your prayers for the auction, as all the details continue to unfold. I'm really excited to see what God has in store!
Our Valentine's day was a blessed one. Thankfully the kids chocolate is almost gone, so I don't have to be the "chocolate warden" much longer. I don't like them to have too much chocolate at once, so I give it out little by little until it's all gone. Michael was especially thoughtful and truly touched my heart with his acts of love,kindness and thoughtfulness,but honestly...he does that all year long.
Valentines day is a day that our society sets aside to think about love, but honestly , most of us know.....everyday is about love in someway. The love of family and friends and special people in our lives. We were reading together in our devotion this morning :
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8 My first observation is that LOVE is used as a verb first. Then my thought was, I wonder what the interpretation of the word "know" is directly from the Greek? I think ( and this is entirely my thought, not for certain until I investigate further) that it means " to understand love " or "to have experienced it". A person can use the word love and not know what it really means. A person can say I know God but not have a relationship with Him, or understand who HE really is or know the relationship that they can have with Him. What I guess I'm trying to say is, I believe what the passage is saying is,if we have experienced true love we then understand what a sacrifice it was for God to send HIS son to earth for us. If we have experienced true love we know what a true gift it is. The warmth it brings our life, the fulfillment in our hearts, the way God intended it to be.
I remember when I was growing up, my sweet Daddy would tell us stories of my grandfather who died in Greece during the War in the early 40's. Now when my father would speak... you could hear the love in his voice, you could see it in his eyes as the tears streamed down his face. I remember thinking , he sure does talk about him a lot even after he has been gone for so long(as I was a goofy teenager at some point). Now that I'm older and a little wiser, I find myself remembering my father, sharing my memories of him with my children and still getting choked up at times , 14 years after his death, the love has not faded. I still love him and still miss him everyday. Even with Michael, I am more in love with him than I was on the day we married, but at the time I didn't believe a human could be more in love. I believe that only that kind of love must be from God. It doesn't die when we do or fade with time. I am thankful to God, because I KNOW that these relationships were gifts from HIM.
"God is Love" Love is not god.....God is love. So in my mind, my interpretation of this is, there are many types of love in the world, there is the love of flesh, the love of wealth and many kinds of superficial loves, but without God in the midst of the relationship, the hearts the true love, the "fullness" of love can't be accomplished. What I'm saying is......God created Love, He is love then wouldn't it make more sense to say HE should have a part in our hearts so that we can love to the fullest.
I'm not trying to preach or rant on and on. I'm not saying I have it all figured out. I am just sharing as I seek God in my everyday. I am not able to blog everyday with my busy and blessed Mommy schedule, so it has turned in to more of a way for me to share my heart with tid-bits of our everyday with our friends. It's like a random glimpse into my journal....my heart and my thoughts. The glimpse may not be riveting, but it is open and honest.