Tonight, my heart was broken by my daughter.  We were having the typical night of the kids going crazy  and disobeying everything we say.  Kaitlyn went a bit too far, and she was told she was getting a spanking.  When I took her into our room, she continued to tell me she would be good.  I told her not to try to make a deal with me.  Anyway, as it neared to the spanking, I talked through with her what she had done.  She understood that what she did was sin and needed to be punished.  She knows about Jesus dying for her, and has trusted in him as her savior(which is something we will not question but nurture and search for fruit).  As I talked about God punishing his son for our sin instead of us, I explained to her what mercy is.  I told her that mercy is when we sin and should be punished, but God chooses not to punish us but chose instead to punish Jesus on the cross.  The conversation then went like this:

ME:  Daddy is going to give you mercy tonight.

Kaitlyn(Balling hysterically): But, I don’t want it!  I don’t want it!

ME: Wait, wait, wait.  Kaitlyn, that is a good thing.  Kaitlyn, stop crying. 

Kaitlyn:  Please, no.

I then had to explain to her that mercy is not what God did to Jesus, but what he didn’t do to us.  So, we sat and talked while she calmed down.  We then prayed, and she asked Jesus to forgive her for sinning.  It was sweet, but I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head when I said that to her. 

I took Landon and Kaitlyn out today for a second attempt at making them enjoy ice-fishing.  I came prepared with the shanty this time.  I had a hard time finding time to set it up because they kept catching fish. 

A while back I posted a few posts about the sings I would share with my kids.  Now that Collin has been here for 6 months, I guess it’s his turn.  There are 2 songs I picked for Collin before he was born, and they still hang true now.  The first is “Holy Moment.”  After driving 90 Mph to the hospital, and trying in vain to get Beth not to push, I remember watching Collin slip out onto the bed.  I always thought that after each kid, the births would just seem routine.  Of course, that’s a stupid thought.  It was truly amazing to see him for the first time.  I always go to the nursery with the nurse to watch all the kids’ tests.  There’s just something special about standing there and staring at your kid for no reason. 

A couple of weeks ago, Beth and I sat down and privately dedicated Collin to God.  It was a special moment for the two of us, as we prayed for wisdom to raise him, and we prayed that God would raise him to serve Him.  This song en-capsulizes all of that for me. It’s called “Proud Father” by Jon Mclaughlin.

If you don’t normally check out the sidebar on blogs you read, you should.  You should always take a minute to browse through them.  Many have links to things they support such as charities, causes, conferences, or their beliefs.  They also usually have a blogroll, and what I like(and have just added to mine) is their rss feeds.  This is a list of sites they read, but not only that it lists the most recent posts from those sites that the blogger found important and worth sharing.  So next time don’t just look for a new post or a new comment to argue.  Take the time to see what the person is all about when your on their site.  I have recently added men to my blogroll who have no idea I exist, but they are very influential and very close to what I believe and value.  I have also put my google reader on the sidebar too.  It shows the 10 most recent posts I have shared, but if you click the feed link, you can see every post on my reader that I have shared.  So don’t be hasty.  Take some time to check these things out.

Today was the big day.  This was Kaitlyn’s first AWANA Grand Prix(Pinewood Derby knock-off).  This was also Mine and Beth’s first time as parents.  Kaitlyn took third place in the Cubbies’ division, as well as best design in the Cubbies.  We  were really happy for her.  She also got to watch her cousins take first in Cubbies, and first and second in Sparks.  That’s my girl!

Apparently I have been “tagged” by my sister-in-law.  So, to appease these women who have started chasing each other all over the internet and didn’t realize I’m a boy and not a girl, I will give 8 random things about myself that you may not know.  Beware, this is pretty dull.

1. I was once a woman.

2. My dad once intervened when a woman tried to offer me narcotics.

3. I was mugged in 8th grade.

4. I once infected my Social Studies by improperly dispersing a volatile amount of ch4.

5. I have soiled myself 3 times since my Senior year in Highschool.

6. I survived a brutal attack aimed at neutering me.

7. I’m in a book.

8. I once played soccer with real, full-blooded Indians.

The past few days Kaitlyn has said some crazy things that have made us go, “Huh?” 

The other day, on the way home from Michigan, I took Kaitlyn in to go to the bathroom.  It was a public bathroom, and there were other people utilizing the facilities.  She asked me a question that freaked me out and made me hope no one heard her.  I laughed after we got to the car, but I made sure she knew she could get Daddy in a lot of trouble if she said that again.

Tonight, this was my plate. Kaitlyn looked at it and said, “Daddy’s gonna have diarrhea with that.”  This time we laughed right away as Beth quickly affirmed her agreement with Kaitlyn.  I will say that Daddy can handle beans and franks.  Or as some would say, “Frank and Beanth, Frank and Beanth.  Frank and Beanth.”  Daddy had no issues after this plate.

Have your kids ever said something in public that made you want to crawl in a hole?

God’s Arms

In our arms we hoped to hold you, safe from all harm.

With our eyes we hoped to see you grow up and behold

The future that awaited you filled with hopes and dreams.

We wanted to kiss you and show you our love

And teach you the love of our God up above.

But God’s plans were greater than we can ever dream.

He planned your life perfectly,

Though too short it seemed.

For although I could hold you for moments at a time

His arms are greater, much greater than mine.

Now in my dreams I long to know you as the blessing you are.

As I wait for that glorious day, when your face I’ll behold.

And when the future that awaited us is finally revealed

I’ll run to you and hold you and fully understand

Of how the point of it all was hidden in His hands.

Because…

Oh how I wish I could hold you for moments at least,

But you were always God’s little one.

And, now you’re safe in His arms.

This is the song I wrote for our “glory baby”.   

Beth ha t go and write a post on her blog that teared me up.  GEez!

Our pastor preached on Psalm 121 on Sunday.  What timing of this passage.  God is great.

Some of you have heard of Beth’s mom’s recent spat with possible Ovarian Cancer.   They had found a huge mass on her ovary a few weeks ago.  Beth’s grandma told her mom a few days before the exploratory surgery that she had Catholics, Methodists,and Baptists praying for her, so she was pretty much covered.  We chuckled at it, but it was great to see how many people were praying for her.  After the surgery this past week, I told Beth the Pentecostals must have been praying to(again as humor).  When the doctors went in they were expecting to remove both ovaries and possibly a kidney, as there seemed to be something on one of them as well.  Praise God, because he made it quite a bit easier and showed up with his power.  The doctors found no trace of this mass on her ovary.  There was no sign of tumors anywhere, and they dug around quite a bit to find it.  We’re very excited at what God has done. 

A friend of ours from church was in a pretty bad accident last night.  He broke his hip socket and his pelvis so bad that they will have to do surgery on it.  The recovery will be anywhere form 2-4 months if all goes well.  Please pray for him.   His name is Joe.  Even more please pray for his family.  He has a wife and 4 kids.  This is going to be an extremely trying time as he won’t be able to work during this time.  As a carpenter I know it will be exceptionally hard getting back into his job.  Please be praying very intentionally for them.  Thanks.