Making Gingerbread Boys…and Girls

Grace had it on her heart to make gingerbread cookies with the kids. Since there’s so much commotion going on, it took 2 days to get the gingerbread  dough prepared, chilled, and ready to roll, but boy was it worth the bother! Amélie oversaw the progress, but then she wanted to help too, so Aunt Gerlinde showed her how.The cookies were baked to perfection, and then everybody was ready to join in the fun…and I do mean everybody! We had 9 grandchildren under 7 at our house that night, and the only one who abstained was Sophie, who’s only a month old. Sophie slept through the whole party and never even knew what she was missing. Even Judah and Baby Giles got into frosting (with a little help from their dads), and for those of us who really like frosting…their cookies were “the best!”But, I think every cookie was a masterpiece…just like ginger children.

Each child is so unique and so wonderful! They are really precious gifts. As I watch my kids waking up at all hours with babies, changing diapers, soothing tears, managing squabbles, doing endless loads of laundry, cleaning up after them, and trying to find time to nurture them, I remember so well the “good, old days” when our seven were little and I was more or less always exhausted. I sometimes hear young people say, “So, why would anybody ever want to have kids? They’re so much work.” True, true, but they are also so much of the stuff of life and love…tiny bundles of humanity that have the potential to enjoy life and fellowship with God and with us  forever! What a gift we can give by investing our lives in children…and what gifts they are to us as well. I wouldn’t trade mine for any amount of money or leisure!!!

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3).

Rise Up, My Love (65): Shadow Lands

Song of Solomon 2:17 “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved…” There is a luminescent spiritual pearl here too beautiful to leave hidden within its shell. One cannot dive down and pull up this verse without noticing its twin oyster: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (I Corinthians 13:12).

Spiritually, we are living in the shadow lands where life and death, joy and pain are inextricably intertwined. Someday the silver cord binding us to this earth will be loosed; the golden bowl of our life will break, and we will fly away to heaven. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7). In that day, we shall see him face to face, and “we shall be like Him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). Someday we will die, but we must not fear death! This is the glorious hope of the Christian:  when the day breaks and the shadows flee away, we shall know the dawn of everlasting light and the unclouded enjoyment of his blessed presence forever! We must learn to grasp this priceless pearl by faith!   Like Paul we need to learn, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent form the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Our ultimate physical death is the gateway to eternal life in the immediate presence of our Lord; our last great battle with pain brings the triumph of everlasting joy.  Although God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather wants them to turn to him and live (Ezekiel 33:11), the Scriptures are clear that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). Why?  Because when the bell tolls out our death on earth, the wedding bells will be ringing in heaven! Before Christ left the earth he taught us, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Herein lies the Pearl of Great Price—Eternal Life—Jesus Christ. Although death is our enemy, don’t fear death!  Look beyond death and see the figure of Christ!  See him standing with his sword drawn, ready to swallow up death in victory.  “O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Corinthians 15:54-57). He is our captain, mighty to save (Hebrews 2:10; Isaiah 63:1)!

“Until the day break and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved…” What does the bride say to her heavenly beloved? Until I experience the full light of everlasting glory, let me feel your presence.  Reign in me fully; delight in me completely; may I always be moved and totally absorbed by your love.

The Armstrong Archives (65): Uncle Terry Visits

Thursday, February 22, 1979 Well, we had a nice break from the February drearies with Uncle Terry this week. He came Sunday night and left last night (Wednesday). He was doing some preliminary research for an experiment they’re running this fall on the impact of sports on athletes at various universities, including Michigan State University. He really burned it hard and did two days’ work in one so he had an extra day to play on Alan’s day off. The best part was just getting to know him a little better. He had never seen Michael! The boys immediately fell in love with him, and Aaron made the same comment that Noel [Terry’s other nephew] had, “I like having two daddies!” When Alan tucked Aaron in one night, Aaron teased him, “Are you Uncle Terry or Uncle Daddy?” We all felt pretty teary when we had to part with him.Besides all that, we just had a lot of fun doing things together. We toured around the Renaissance Center and Belle Isle. That day was sunny and warm (“warm” is relative to the freezing weather we’d been having), and we got to see all the fish at the aquarium, the plant conservatory, and found some fallow deer and squirrels eating apples in the woods. On Alan’s day off it was really windy and rainy, so we kept to the inside and spent a little time at the art institute. Terry has something in common with walking encyclopedias, besides many other virtues like consideration, sensitivity, and generosity, so he was both interesting and fun. Now there are only six days left until Alan’s done with day wards, and I think we will survive!

While browsing through a bookstore the other day, we saw a big book on California. On the cover was a sweeping view of the spectacular coastline. Aaron looked up at me with round-eyed alarm. “Mama, where are Noel and Joli? Why aren’t they in the picture?” After all, what’s important in California: scenery or cousins? At least Aaron has his values straight. Aaron still has trouble with past tenses. He says “hurted” so often that sometimes I can’t remember if it’s a legitimate word of not! The other day we saw a bright red cardinal. “Look at the beautiful cartilage!” he exclaimed. Or, noting Michael’s commotion at the table once, he demanded, “What’ all the complexion about?” Words!!! Michael has picked up a few new ones too, “Biba” (Bible, used for all books), a revived use of “dona” (doughnut, used for all goodies), and “NO!” He literally puffs up with pride over each new accomplishment, so pleased with himself. I found him practicing at the mirror the first morning he learned “no.” He would say it just as seriously and meanly as he could, then he’d laugh and laugh.

The dictionary for children is starting to get a lot of use. Every day or two we use it to learn something: what a puffin looks like or how a boom and a derrick are related. It even broke up one argument the other day! Aaron hadn’t eaten a good breakfast, so I told him there would be no snacks until lunch if he didn’t finish. Sure enough, by ten o’clock he was craving come cheese. He contended that a snack was junk food and didn’t include nutritious items. I said it meant anything eaten between meals. Do you need a dictionary to figure out who was right? (We ate lunch earlier than usual, though!)

The legos have continued to be the family favorite this week, and there is a perceptible improvement in how the boys can handle them. If the interest keeps up long enough, we may all figure out how to use them. With such a constant round of colds, I’m really glad they are content to play a lot of quiet indoor games; it has made the winter much more pleasant than anticipated. They also love to listen to records and stories, and even Michael is starting to sit on my lap and listen a bit. I love to read, so I’m especially pleased to see our little ones developing similar interests. There are so many exciting things to learn and enjoy!

P.S.— Hope you get this before you leave! I just wanted to wish you and Aunt Helen a “Bon Voyage!” You sure picked the perfect time of year to be in sunny Mexico! We hope you have an absolutely marvelous time exploring and getting to enjoy each other’s company. Aren’t sisters great?!

…We had such a great time with Terry. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would give him up! On the other hand, knowing my own bad side and human weakness, it’s as much a wonder that any two people ever remain married.

Merry Christmas!

It’s nearly midnight on Christmas Eve, and I’m waiting for my kids to finish wrapping presents at the kitchen table so I can fill the stockings and set them out (also on the kitchen table). It’s already been a truly wonderful holiday, although I’ve hardly had a minute to think a quiet thought for over a week, and we’re looking forward to a couple of more glorious weeks together before we have to part with the last of the kids and resume “life as usual” for 2014. We will have everybody together over the holidays…all 27 of us, and the house is already full!  Tonight we went to the Christmas Eve service at Calvary Church. We sang some carols and the kids colored pictures about the birth of Christ.

Michael read us a story for Advent and ended with a treat of gold (chocolate) coins for the kids. Now the kids are safely tucked into bed (hopefully with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads), Alan and Stephen are off to a midnight service where Stephen is playing, our adult “kids” are wrapping last minute presents, and I am thinking about how thankful I am to the Lord for our bubbly, busy family…and the fact that I haven’t sent out any Christmas cards this year and probably won’t have a chance to even blog much before mid January! Still, know that if you’re reading this, I have been praying for you.

May God bless you richly and grant you a healthy, happy 2014. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Day and a find great peace in accepting the love gift that God has sent to us: Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave his life for us.

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Rise Up, My Love (64): Truly Free Love

Song of Solomon 2:16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.” In the first verse of this chapter, the bride describes herself as a lily. Here she tenderly pictures him being filled up by drinking her in and delighting in her. The fragrant, snow white lily is the perfect symbol of the purity and beauty of the nuptial bed. As the earthly bridegroom is allowed to “browse”…to freely “feed among the lilies”…to uninhibitedly enjoy the pleasures of his wife, he finds the reservoirs of his body, soul, and spirit being filled up and overflowing. This is the relationship which restores and refreshes the husband just as much food restores a famished soul.  Dear wives, delight in allowing your husband to “feed among the lilies” of your body, soul, and spirit.  Let him drink you in and be filled up always by your love!

2:17 “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.”  The word “Bether” means “cleft,” and although this has been a much disputed passage, often spiritualized into a metaphor of the church waiting for the rapture, it would be sadly out of context to suggest that the bride is lamenting her husband’s having abandoned her to feed his flocks among some distant lilies and that she is anxiously awaiting his return. Quite the opposite.  She has just been reveling in their unity— “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”  Would this be the exclamation of a bride whose husband had just left her to go off on a business trip?  Much more likely, it is the exultation of one who was holding her husband in her arms!

In that context, and following her description of him browsing among the lilies, it seems much more natural that this verse is an invitation for her husband to take his fill of love until the morning.  This is the true invitation of a loving wife. Notice the marked similarities between this invitation and that of the adulterous woman in Proverbs 7:18: “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning.” Although the invitation is similar, beware of the striking differences between true love and false love.   The adulterous harlot of Proverbs 7 is not in a covenant relationship of “My beloved is mine, and I am His.”  Instead, she pursues her prey (Proverbs 7:10-12). The strange woman is not the responder, she is the initiator, flattering with her lying lips rather than speaking the truth in love (Proverbs 7:5, 13-15). She offers him first—not herself, but her material trappings and comforts: “I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.  I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon” (Proverbs 7:16-17).  Her invitation is couched in deceit and sin: “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.  For the goodman is not at home…” (Proverbs 7:18-19). Instead of yielding to a loving husband’s desire, the adulterous woman allures her victim against his better judgment: “With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him” (Proverbs 7:21). And most importantly, the result of her invitation—rather than filling up his senses with life-giving refreshment—brings the stench of death:  “He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter…as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life… For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (Proverbs 7:22-27).

In this day of adulterous relationships, beware of falling prey to the flattering tongue of the unhappy woman. Follow the example of the perfect husband, and “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well…Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love” (Proverbs 5:15,18-19).

This is the picture we see in the Song of Solomon 2:17. The wife is inviting her husband to be as a young stag, enjoying the “cleft mountains” of her breasts. “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” It is my prayer that husbands learn to love their wives as tenderly as our Heavenly Beloved loves us, and that wives will respond and learn to invite their husbands into the satisfying freedom of  enjoying their bodies. Then, there would be no reason for a man to long for another woman’s comfort.

No reason… but sometimes possibly the corrupt non reason of lust welling up within the heart. “And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” (Proverbs 5:20).  Great is the ruin of all who turn aside to lies!  “Be thou ravished always with her (your wife’s) love.” Oh God, seal to our hearts this teaching!

The Armstrong Archives (64): “He’s a just gonna hav ta die I guess.”

Saturday, February 10, 1979  Well, back from a long, exciting day on the town with the boys. Alan is on call tonight, so we got up bright and early and took a bus down to retrieve the car for the weekend. We took a trip to K-Mark to get (among other more needed items) a special toy truck for Aaron [3] as a consolation prize for postponing our trip. He is more crazy about his grandparents than just about anybody else I can think of, and he was pretty crest-fallen over the delay. However, Alan will be done with school soon, and I’m sure Aaron will get lots of time with the you then!

Aaron is supposed to be coloring valentines, but, he’s finally mastered cutting with scissors, and now every time he gets done coloring a page he starts cutting it into narrow strips. Oh well!

Back to my story! From K-Mart we went to the Christian bookstore to get Little Visits With God and a couple of object lesson books for the boys. From there to Burger Chef for lunch, then Farmer Jack’s for groceries. It was a long day, but they never complained. A miracle!? I keep expecting Michael to start getting balky, but he’s still sweet. Both the boys have really been harder to control since Alan’s been on emergency surgery working 90-100-hour weeks. I teasingly told Alan the other night that I hadn’t realized he did anything around the house until he started working nights. Even one extra hour being with the kids at night makes a big difference in their dispositions. After not seeing Alan for about three days, Aaron told me, “Tell Daddy to stop working so hard and come home to play again.”

I can’t tell how Alan’s absence affects Michael [16-months-old], but he is certainly ecstatic whenever he sees Alan. Michael is really growing these days. He’s learned how to get out of his crib and into Aaron’s, so there are regular battles over bedtime these days! He has also just about taken over Aaron’s job of carrying things to the dinner table (only selected items, like unbreakables!). He also—amazingly—likes to pick up toys and helps me straighten up. The other day he found a Kleenex and threw it in the trash. Of course, he has also been known to throw toys in the trash, so I’m not too sure how virtuous he was being, in retrospect. He’s the family smoocher. All we have to do is mention being “sweet,” or kissing, and he’s all puckered up. He loves best of all to kiss Aaron, which meets with mixed results.

Both the boys are really in love with their legos. What great toys for kids! Michael can stack them, and Aaron can make the models from off the box on the big ones. Aaron’s set (the small kind) makes good trampling grounds for Michael whenever I’m not looking. I think Mike likes the sound, like shuffling through leaves or something. Aaron spends hours building big square trucks and wagons, tractors, and a few houses, boxes, boats, and whatever. Most of his creations look fairly similar, with one or two distinctions, but he’s pretty sure what they are.

Alan and I are just basically on survival this month. He is usually home less than nine hours so does little besides eat, bathe, read, and sleep. We usually try to talk between bites and soapsuds. If the boys haven’t been sleeping too long, he often gets them up for just a few minutes to say “hi,” which they are always more than happy to do. I find that it makes me feel more introspective, and I entertain myself by doing things like cutting 18” off my hair, throwing out my makeup, cleaning cupboards, etc.

Monday, February 12, 1979 Foiled again! Alan called to say he’d probably be home “early,” and since the boys hadn’t napped all afternoon they were ready to sleep by 8:00 pm. By the time Alan arrived I was relaxed from a nice, hot bath and was all ready for a (somewhat) leisurely candlelight dinner. Except. Except just as Alan walked in the door Aaron woke up screaming with an earache. Alan had to whisk him right over to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital for penicillin and eardrops. Poor little guy—it’s about the fourth time this winter.

I find the days seem to go rather slowly this month. Alan is putting in another 95 hours this week, and I think he’s lost about five pounds in two weeks. Luckily this rotation will only last ‘til March. I already have trouble seeing him if he turns sideways. He’s supposed to be learning a little about emergency surgery, but in reality he’s learning a lot about nursing, respiratory therapy, radiology, and all the ancillary services since none of them do their jobs. Detroit General is the hospital where one of Alan’s friends panicked and asked a nurse for help. She responded, “Honey, it’s 11:00 pm, and I’m goin’ home. He’s a just gonna hav ta die I guess.”

The boys are in fine form again (except for tonight’s earache) after a somewhat trying adjustment period to being fatherless. Aaron has taken to calling himself “the man in the family” and looks after Michael quite well. I even found him sponging up some water Michael splashed out of the tub a couple of nights ago. Aaron is also being trained to answer the phone (with supervision), so don’t be surprised if he answers. He reported to me accurately once that “Uncle Keith called and said he’d try again later (I was out emptying trash), but I think you should call him right now.” In fact, he tells me his opinion all the time. I think it must be a new stage, but he constantly contradicts me. I mean, to the point of being ridiculous. If I say it looks cold out, he says it’s warm. If I comment that I’m going to vacuum, he says it would be better to scour the sink. Advice, please! Is it time to ignore his contrariness, or should I take him seriously and train him to be more respectful? Is this the next stage after the Terrible Two battle over learning obedience?

Michael’s coming along well. He’s learned two new words: ca(r), and di(aper). The other day he was eating his vegetable soup, and all of a sudden he exclaimed, “ba(ll), ba!” Before I could figure out what he meant, he had fired two peas at me. If he doesn’t turn out to play some kind of sports, I’ll be amazed. He would rather play ball than do almost anything. In fact, the only thing I know he loves better than ball is Aaron. He has started climbing into bed with Aaron every time he wakes up. At first Aaron threw a fit about it, but I told him about how I used to sneak into bed with my big sister Annie when I’d get scared at night, and how nice it is to be able to cuddle when it’s cold, so now he is almost as pleased over the arrangement as Michael is. It’s really gratifying to see them becoming such good friends after such intense initial jealousy. I hope it lasts at least a little while longer!

Did I tell you there’s no such thing as a loser in our family? For some reason, Aaron never learned the word, so now when he competes with everybody to see who can finish his oatmeal first, it’s just, “I’m the first winner,” or “You’re the third winner.” Since I’m usually the last one done, I never bother to tell him that really I’m the loser. I figure that if both boys finish a good breakfast before I do…I’m a winner!

We’re still trying to figure out what to do with our time between April and June. No thunderbolts have struck yet, but I’m sure the Lord must have something. Well, maybe I’d better start to heat up our dinner again and see if Alan will show up!

Rise Up, My Love (63): The Importance of Being Earnest…ly Possessed

Song of Solomon 2:16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his…” Here again the scene changes.  Their labor has been completed, and they have gone home to rest.  The foxes have been caught; their vineyard is again secured; their relationship is healthy and growing…and now their communion is again pure and sweet…and even deeper.  How often in life it is through the struggle of overcoming difficulties that we become more strongly bonded to our mate.  Working side by side in the vineyard of life produces a unity that surpasses that of untried love.  So it is with the bride, for here is her first exclamation of unquestioned possession.

“My beloved is mine…” Held fast in her arms, she knows He is hers.  The LXX version renders “beloved” as “kinsman,” meaning “one near to redeem.”  How true this is of our heavenly beloved, who also holds us fast in his arms and ever lives to redeem us. Not only secure in his pronouncements of love, the bride is now secure in her obedience to love.  He has claimed her, and she has surrendered to his claim. “My beloved is mine.”  He is mine, not only in interest, but in enjoyment; not only in covenant, but also in communion. Wholly mine. Only mine.  Forever mine! What a privilege and treasure to hold to one’s breast an earthly beloved who will be ours wholly and only while life shall last!  Beyond that, what a sacred privilege to hold and be held in the embrace of love with our heavenly beloved not only for time but for all eternity!

“My beloved is mine…” That he is ours is the free gift of God the Father: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  It is the free gift of the Son: “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).  The Holy Spirit is also given to us as a free gift: “This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).

“My beloved is mine, and I am his…” I am his, by creation, by redemption, by conquest, and by free choice.  Some are won easily, as this bride was won.  Others are won only after a bloody battle, as so aptly described by Spurgeon:

“What a battle He had with us before we would be won.  How long He laid siege to our hearts.  How often He sent us terms of capitulation.  But we barred our gates and shut Him out.  Can you remember that glorious hour when He won your heart? He placed His cross against the wall, scaled our ramparts, and planted on our strongholds the blood-red flag of His omnipotent mercy.

“Yes, we are indeed the conquered captives of His omnipotent love, chosen, purchased, and subdued.  The rights of our divine possessor are inalienable.  We rejoice that we never can be our own.  We desire, day by day, to do His will and to show forth His glory” (Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Nov. 15).

But, whether with difficulty or easily, all of his beloved ones are won to himself.  Won by conquest, but also by free consent.  “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”  It is a declaration of great joy! He is mine—his gift of himself given freely to me; I am his—my gift of myself given freely to him.  This is the sacred pattern for perfect love and marriage from the inception of mankind: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).  This is the example of perfected love throughout history: “Thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee” (Hosea 3:3). As so beautifully portrayed for us in the Song of Solomon, this is the sacred privilege of marriage—the permanent enmeshing of two lives into one.  “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).

The Armstrong Archives (63): The Antics of Little Boys

January 23, 1979   Aaron [age 3] pulled Michael [age 1] all the way to the Union this morning in the wagon, but on the way home he got sidetracked stomping through the snow drifts! Right now they’re supposed to be sleeping, but instead I hear much animated giggling. They are such good companions for each other! The whole living room was one huge “tent” tunnel this morning, and they crawled all over, chasing and playing.

We’ve just about decided to have the kids and me come north if Linda and Harold (Curtis) go. Otherwise, we’ll stay. It’s a good compromise since Alan isn’t crazy to see us leave, and it’s so expensive. I’m very content. I would absolutely love to come, but I’d hate to leave Alan. Aaron—on the other hand—has no qualms at all about leaving anybody. He just wants to go! He says we can leave Michael to keep Alan company!!

Hope you’re both healthy and keeping a prospective on all giants that keeps them looking small. I’ve heard that from two miles up everything on the earth looks flat. “O Lord, how marvelous are thy works, and thy ways past finding out!” Hey, there’s a rainbow outside. Literally! I haven’t seen on for ages! Sunday, January 29, 1979  The kids are down early, so there’s some chance of a peaceful thinking time. This has been a good week, lots of fun and lots of progress. Alan took me to Ann Arbor for a honeymoon night at Weber’s Inn (where we stayed the first night we were married). It is the second time we’ve left Aaron overnight since he was born. Fortunately, we had “Aunt Mary” home from college to sit, and the kids did just fine! The luxury of having no one demanding, “Let’s play jaguars,” or “Tell me about Paul and Silas”…not a single diaper to change or meal to prepare…it was fantastic! However, both Alan and I realized from the start that it was only a sheer pleasure because we had two little boys whom we dearly love and to whom we could soon return! They add immeasurably to our lives.

While over in Ann Arbor we also found what will probably be our housing for the next three years: the University Townhouse Cooperative. They are lovely, three-bedroom townhouses with a basement and the possibility for a fenced-in back yard if we want to do it. The amazing thing is that they are also the most inexpensive housing we’ve found! They have none of the common frills that most of the apartment complexes have (such as a community club house or pool), but they are clean, neat, and just perfectly suited to our needs. We will also have enough room for company without having to sleep anybody on the living room floor—HINT, HINT!

The only snag is that we can’t apply until March 15 (and Alan can prove he has a job), and there’s a one/three-month waiting list, so we may not be able to move in right away. We may store our stuff somewhere and either work (if Alan can find a two-month job) or live out of our car and go sightseeing or something. Traveling with two preschoolers might not be the most restful thing to do, so we are still thinking and waiting.

Aaron’s response to all this is, “I’m so exciting!” I try to tell him that usually things that happen are “exciting” and people get “excited,” but he insists that he’s exciting, and I suppose that true too, so I don’t correct him too much. He is looking forward to all the changes. One thing that has helped is having all but one of his closest friends move this past year. With everybody moving out, I guess he figures it’s about our turn. The prospects for moving in a couple of months have made me appreciate all our friends and benefits more. We’ve lived in this apartment longer than anywhere in our married life, and it won’t be easy to leave! (But then, is it ever?) To change what we know for what we don’t know, but with the hope that it will be a valuable trade—all it takes is faith! A little like death for the Christian, only we can approach death with eager expectation and perfect assurance, like Christ, who “for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross” and like Paul who likened his approaching death to the anticipation of a runner looking to the finish line. So, I will look forward to our move with confidence!

Where was I? Aaron’s full of good lines these days, such as, “I’m so tiredfulsome.” He also has this thing about pretending to be an animal. He can never settle on just being a little boy, and lately he’s created an imaginary creature so that he can incorporate all his favorite characteristics into one acceptable (though unbelievable) creation. It’s a tyringe: terrible, fierce, ferocious, friendly, Christian, omnivorous (but specializing in alligators, armadillos, and aardvarks); it can swim, fly, float, and run, lives in the jungle and hides in caves, attacks all evil beasts, and sleeps at night in a snug, warm crib next to his baby brother tyringe.

By the way, did I thank you for the potty-training article? I appreciated it and noticed with some amusement that the average age of training spontaneously is twenty-eight months…precisely when I congratulated myself on training Aaron. So, I guess I don’t get any credits on his account!

I took both boys over to the campus for a $1.00 pancake breakfast this morning. They were as good as gold and had all kinds of college kids playing mouse and lion, crawling on their hands and knees under tables and being chased by a “ferocious lion” (Aaron), and his “ground hog” baby brother.

Michael is as delightful as ever, and I think he now says “donut” and “more,” doughnut being his universal name for “good” food. He spends most of his time trying to grab Aaron’s toys and crawling all over him. Aaron is getting duly repaid for climbing all over me when I was pregnant! What a couple of cards!

I am really happy about the housing prospects. Someone told me today that Ann Arbor had the 2^nd highest rents in the nation, second only to some place in New Jersey that I’d never heard of, like “Chasen” (? or something).

Love, Us

Do You Have Enough Room at Your Inn?

If you—like Alan and me—have been wracking your brain over how to take care of all your kids and grand kids when they come home for the holidays, I’d like to encourage you with some thoughts from the first Christmas letter I received this year. It comes from Paul and Lynn, who are missionaries in the Northwest Territories of Canada and have taken in so many children that their home is virtually an orphanage at this point:

Can’t get used to the numbers!  It would take me many more pages to explain to you what it has been like having all 16 of us living together.  The numbers are staggering, the responsibilities daunting, and the work endless.  The kids sometimes have fun with the “numbers” …8 kids under seven, 3 three- year-olds, 3 in kindergarten, 13 kids thirteen and under, 2 sets of twins and 1 set of triplets, 5 in high chairs, two in diapers and on goes the game.  Even after almost 4 months with 14 children, counting out 16 bowls for oats in the morning seems so mind boggling and irrational.  I can`t get used to it; if one ever does, I don`t know.

Adjusting our routines, space and hearts for so many little and damaged children has not been easy.  It has been exhausting, challenging, stretching and hard for all of us.  Even though we know a bit about their history, the pain and abuse they have suffered, and the conditions they are now left with like Reactive Attachment Disorder,  and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, it is hard on a daily basis to keep that in mind when a 5-year-old is throwing his play mobil full force at the wall while screaming, when a three-year-old dumps the entire 2-litre bottle of shampoo into the tub, when a 6-year-old is choking his little brother, and when all the 1- year-old will do is make this low constant whine…(since been dubed “Dewhiny”).  Their teeth are rotten or severely damaged, their communication skills 2 to 3 years delayed, their understanding of books or what it means to “play” almost nil. Their lack of trust causes them to be extremely demanding and attention seeking, and I could go on and on.  For me, my house isn’t as clean or organized, I don’t bake as much, and I have a better excuse to procrastinate on paper work. I often feel like a referee in a game that never ends and a warrior against the indefeatible foe of laundry.  Simply going outside for a walk can be an overwhelming activity with 5 children who cannot dress themselves.

So why do we do this? I`ve asked myself that question a hundred times!  What am I doing?  I can`t say we`ve completely figured it out, but we do come to the same conclusion each time.   We want to be faithful.  We want to be obedient to what God leads us to do.  The scriptures are filled with verses about God loving the orphan, caring for the fatherless, putting the lonely in families…how does He do this apart from us?  So often, in the tiring business of changing diapers, wiping dirty noses, disciplining and instructing over and over, I think about that…I am God`s hands and feet…I feel God’s pleasure as we are set apart to do this unusual and impossible work…His work…to be His hands and feet of love and hope to these children.

One day it struck me in a “light bulb” moment sort of way that God must really care about these children in particular, because He brought them to us…a Christian family…who will teach them about the Lord…He must have a plan for these children…this is no accident…no work of chance or fate.  We must believe that for now, this is God`s plan and purpose and we have yet to discover what the outcome will be.  Isn`t that exciting? We are a part of some grand scheme!

It isn’t all dreadful and difficult.  There are many joyous and fun times.  Besides that, it is a “fast track” to deepening spiritual growth and dependency upon God.  I start my day with, “God, I can’t do this alone, so I’m going out there (beyond my bedroom) to find you.”

Isn’t this a beautiful testimony to God’s grace in their life? If the Lord brings their family to you mind, I hope you’ll pray for them! Thanks. It makes me feel quite shallow to be fretting about how to house and feed my 23, all of whom are healthy and well! Twelve are adults, and only 11 are children, so we’ve even got them out numbered!

Whatever complications you’re facing, I hope you are able to enjoy this very precious time of year. May God grant you peace and make a way for you!

“And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you have done it [acts of love and compassion] to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me’.” (Matthew 25:40)

Nelson Mandela: His Life and Legacy

You know someone is highly respected here in the U.S. when 4 American presidents go halfway around the world to attend his funeral! I hear that 10s of thousands stood in the pouring rain to show their respect and listen to the long list of world greats who came to share stories and celebrate the life of this icon of freedom and good works. If you’re wondering just who he was and what his life and legacy have been, I would like to recommend Invictus (starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon), a movie released in 2010 based on the inspirational true story of Nelson Mandela, who became the president of South Africa after 30 years in prison. I watched it a couple of years ago and thought it was really great. No matter who we are today, we can become so much more. Radical change is possible!

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Jesus teaches us in Luke 9:24)

(P.S.—If you’re looking for good movies, I recommended about a dozen of my favorites on February 28, 2011. If you type “Nelson” in my wordpress search bar, it will bring up the post where I mention Invictus along with some other movies that I thought were very worthwhile. Also, I’m always in the market for excellent movies, and I’d love to have you share a few of your favorites too if you would! Thanks.)