Things God Has Been Teaching Me

I have been chewing on a few passages of scripture lately and I feel led to share what God is teaching me.  I pray that anyone who reads, take it as encouragement, because that is the intent.

In an society where using words like honor is fading, Exodus 20:12 tells us we should, "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."

What does that mean to adult child? It means we honor our father and mother in their decisions, even if we disagree with them (not saying you have to agree, but acceptance is what I am talking about). Consider our lifespan, I potentially have 30 years left to spend with my parents. I don't have time to waste on being mad, angry, offended or whatever other selfish feeling you can think of towards my parents, there is just not enough time.

I can't imagine one day Landon or Logan choosing not to speak to me.  Could it happen, yes, I would be broken hearted to tears.  I can't repay my parents in such a way, I love them too much.

In keeping with this commandment, God is going to bless you.

Lamentations 3:38-41 says, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven..." 

God is in control of everything.  Good or bad, God is on His throne and His ways are higher than we can fathom.

We have no right to complain.  I have been challenged to examine my ways and return to the Lord in many areas of my life.  When return to the Lord, there is blessing.  Are you missing out on blessing today?  We are encouraged to lift up our hearts and hands to God; what an amazing picture of submission to our Lord.

I heard in a sermon recently the pastor reference Genesis 16:9-10, "Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."  The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

God is talking to Hagar, Sarai's Egyptian maidservant, after she found out she was pregnant with Abram's son.  God is telling us to go back, submit and He will bless us.  It is so easy to run away, but God is directing us to go back, deal with it, forgive and forget, insert your cliche, but go back and submit.

God wants to bless you and I, we just need to listen to His words.  God will bless us if we follow and obey His instructions.  Didn't God bless Hagar?  Or course he did; it is believed that Ishmael is the father of the Arabs.

One final passage of scripture that God has shown me recently is, Matthew 7:12.  "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." 

God is going to bless us kindly.  The illustration my friend uses is as follows:  We ask God for a moldy strawberry and He says, "No, you don't want that, here take this fresh strawberry."  Would you give your child a moldy strawberry, by no means.  God wants the best for us.  He wants us to receive blessing and in order to receive it we have to look at verse 12:

"...do to others what you would have them do to you..."

We are called to love one another and treat others as we want to be treated.  I don't want to be treated with disrespect and neither do you.  How do we want to be treated in our mistakes?  We want to be let off the hook.  God wants the best for us; not mediocre. We should treat one another with love; unconditional love and even if it is not returned to us, love them anyway.

Jesus says, "...the greatest commandment in the Law [is] 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:36-38).

I pray that I continue to dive into God's word and glean from it what He'd have me learn. God Bless.

The Boys on Video

A Poem to Share

Dear Jesus,
Landon here again,
How's your day been?
All is well here.
Ready to pray for those dear.
Mommy she cooks great food,
And daddy is one cool dude.
Brother, Thanks especially for him,
Because he's now my bestfriend.
Thanks, Jesus, for my family,
They are the best for me.
Goodnight and amen,
I'll talk to you again.

Must See Pics

Here is one of Logan sleeping. This little boy still has his nights and days mixed...sorta, but when he sleep, he is out. He is getting really big and is already smiling (or maybe it is just gas). It is so sweet. Oh and Logan attended his first football game in Milano on Thursday night.

Here is a picture of Landon at the football game making friends with a young lady. I am not sure where he gets his charm from, but in the words of his mother, "This little girl loved Landon...and I'm pretty sure he loved her..."

It is such a blessing to be raising two little boys. They are awesome. Enjoy the pics!

Landon & Logan Recent Photos

Here are two of the latest photos of my boys. They were taken early this month with Kari's phone and I believe it has been way too long since I have shared photos.

Landon, on the left, is sitting on his toys with wheels while his mother is trying to tell him, "sit down!" He pretty much just looked at her and smiled.
Logan, on the right, is taking a little afternoon nap here. He is a good sleep, but he won't sleep in his bed. He is in his room in this picture, but on the guest bed not his own.

They are both growing like weeds and Kari and I feel so blessed to have these two precious boys. God Bless.

Tales from Fatherhood

After much thought, I believe it is worthy of my blog to note two gross firsts that happened to me Labor Day Monday morning at about 5am.

For the first time about five, Logan vomited on me. Kari and I decided to try a little formula with him to see if he would sleep a little better. It seemed to have cause another effect: hence I was vomited on by my one month old. I am sure it won't be the last time.

Later that morning at about 8am, Landon awoke from his slumber. Thinking I could get a few more minutes to snooze, I prepared another Pedialyte bottle for him (we learned that milk products are not settling well on his tummy; uncertain if he is lactose intolerance yet). As I rocked him, we did both fall asleep till 10am, but in those two hours Landon urinated on me.

In less than 5 hours, I had been vomited on and urinated on! What a way to start the morning.

God Bless.

Mini Vacation

What turned into a day off here and there turned into a mini vacation. I am so blessed to have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. This will allow me a chance to re-charge my "getting old" batteries.

Sunday we will be attending my brothers couples shower in Red Rock. My brother Aaron and his wife Katie are having a little girl in about five weeks. I am so excited to be an Uncle on the Hellums side of my family. Just seeing some of the pictures Aaron and Katie recently took, just makes me so much more excited for my little brother becoming a father. I am certain he will make a great father.

Kari, the boys, and I will be spending time in Milano with her parents. Honestly, when I get to Milano I shut down. I go into complete vacation mode; I know that there is going to be sweet tea, rest, great food and since it is fall Friday night high school football. Logan has not attended his first high school football game, so we will be looking to put that notch on his belt.

A trip to College Station is scheduled to celebrate Kari's grandmother birthday, September 1st.

Today, Logan is one month old! It is amazing how fast he is growing. Landon and Logan are both a little sick, so please keep them in your prayers.

God Bless.

Hanging Out with Logan

After a full week, hanging out with Logan has been a blast. He does have his nights and days mixed up, but Kari and I knew that was going to happen. He threw a party in the womb every night starting about 11pm, just like his brother. We are getting a little sleep, but we are sure that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Logan is eating like a champ. His grandpa asked how he was doing and my best response was, "he eats like a Hellums."

We have already had many visitors. We are so glad to see everyone and glad you have had an opportunity to meet Logan. On Saturday, Logan attended his first SMT banquet; this was his first public appearance. He slept through the entire event.

One of the most precious moments so far has been Landon's reaction to Logan. We were uncertain how Landon would react, but are so excited about raising these two precious gifts from God. Landon gives Logan kisses on the head. I am not sure how he learned to be so sweet to his brother, but I believe these two boys are going to get along just fine.

Kari and I want to thank everyone for your prayers. We are so thankful for each of you. God Bless and have great Monday.

August 2nd - Play by Play

Monday morning started early for Kari and I. We had to be in Round Rock at 5:30am and it takes an hour from camp to get to the hospital. We left at 4:17am with Kari's mother, Ruth, following us. (Sidenote: traffic on 620 at that time of morning is amazing).

We arrived at the hospital without any problems and were in Labor and Delivery by 5:30am. We were greeted by a familiar nurse and were very anxious to meet Logan. The nurses completed the prep work by 6am and told us to relax because the doctor wouldn't be in until 7:15am or so. My mom and Aunt Martha arrived at about 6am, so we were able to pass time with family.

At about 7:25am, they rolled Kari back to the operating room. As I waited with my mom, the clock stood still. They said it would only be about 15 minutes, but I am sure it was two hours. In reality it was about 40 minutes. I went back about 7:50am. While we were separated, Kari was in some serious pain. The anesthesiologist had inserted the spinal block with much screaming and groaning. It hurt her so bad, they had to stop and allow Kari to catch her breath. During post procedure we asked the anesthesiologist why it hurt so bad and he did not have any explanation.

At 8:11am Logan Earl was born. Dr. Leath retrieved Logan and he cried the most beautiful sobs. I watched as she cut his umbilical cord and once he was free Dr. Leath presented him to Kari and I. From across the room I gazed upon our little boy and he had many distinct characteristics of his mommy. He has a little hair, brownish around the crown of his head and light blonde hair on top. He his two dimples under his bottom lip, just like his older brother Landon. On day two his baby pictures started looking like Landon's, so we got several recommendations to start labeling baby pictures now. He has similar characteristics of Landon, but he definitely has his own unique look.

Current: We have been home since Wednesday, Kari has been experiencing some difficulty in her recovery. I say difficulty, but maybe it is more like issues that she did not have with Landon. You can pray for some of these issues and ask the Lord to heal her: Both of her feet our swollen, she is experiencing large bruising and her tummy is continuing to remain hard. If you would please lift these up.

God Bless!

Proud Father

He is Here!!!

Logan Earl Hellums is Here

Kari, Landon and I are excited to welcome Logan Earl to the family. Logan was born at 8:11am weighing 7lbs and 5 oz and 19.5 inches long.

More details to come, so stay tuned.

Thanks for all your prayers. God Bless.