Watching Landon Grow Up

I am pretty sure every parent I talk to reminds me that your kids, "grow up fast." I can't say I wasn't told, but it is so true. Sometimes I try to imagine when he would just lay on the floor and look at whatever was directly above him or when he didn't mind if I changed his diaper.

Kids really do grow up fast.

Landon is quickly approaching 10 months and he is in to everything. We did not baby proof fast enough, as some of you know (see the broken vase). We are scrambling now to get some baby proofing done. Did you know that it is really hard to install those baby proof deals on cabinets?

The other day Landon smashed his fingers in his hamper. It is one of those that is wooden and two pieces of wood fold apart to make it stand up on. As he was holding one of the legs he knocked it over; as he held on, the other leg closed on his pinkie and ring finger. Kari said she had to pull really hard, hard enough she thought she would pull his fingers off and that his fingers were flattened. I had a chance to come home and hold him for a few moments, but the heartache is indescribable. Later Kari asked me what we could to do prevent him from getting hurt. My only suggestion was to move into a bubble.

Landon eats almost anything, although we haven't tried jalapenos or salsa yet (he has been since he was 3 months old).

He has two different smiles. One is a flat grin (which his Grammy loves) and the other is big, usually mouth open and two shiny dimples. Its pretty cool to hear people say, "he is always smiling." What a joy!

Landon loves to laugh. He laughs because he is ticklish all over (especially his back) and just because. He loves laughing at sounds and faces. Currently my ringtone when Kari calls is Landon laughing as hard as he can at his Mommy.

He is now starting to stand up on his own. Landon crawls and walks (with his train or rocketship) fast across the room. If his Mommy is on the other side of the house, she can call his name and he will plow through anything to get to her.

In the morning I go get him and he always attacks Mommy first thing in the morning. After he makes sure she is awake he will come back to me and normally we brush our teeth together. He gets into those cabinets that aren't baby proofed and pulls out whatever he can find. Most of the time making sure he puts it in his mouth.

Having children is amazing. I am so thankful to live and work at a place where I can see him so much more than I imagine anywhere else. They grow up fast; so if you are about to have a little one, I am now echoing those that told me:

"Enjoy it now, because they grow up fast and before you know it they will be asking for the car keys."

God Bless and have a great weekend.

And The Holy Spirit Pours Out

"There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!" Romans 5:3-5

Let me start by saying, I am starting to learn what God wants to see in my life. First, to be a lover, follower and disciple of Christ. God wants me to share the story of His son Jesus to anyone I meet. Help out my neighbor, community and friends who are serving around the world. Second, love my wife. Give her encouragement, support her and listen to her thoughts and desires. Third, love and take care of my family. This means I serve the Lord in whatever capacity he allows and use whatever the Lord provides to put food, shelter and clothes on my wife and son.

Without listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, none of the above is possible.

Leadership with the Holy Spirit:

Recently I have been learning a new style of leadership: Lead with the Holy Spirit in mind; be truthful and bold and compassionate. What does that mean? Throughout the day, weekend or minute by minute, I am tasked with many things. Sometimes I can delegate certain things, asked to make on the spot decisions and many times have people looking for me for guidence. If I do follow the Holy Spirit or determine what the Lord would have me say or do, than I found out that things run much better. If I don't speak up or act with the Holy Spirit in mind, none of these things will happen and it would be just me trying to do all the work.

Confession:

Hi, my name is Jeremy, I am a recovering passive person. If you want to be run over, not speaking up is permission to be allowed to be run over. I am learning to speak up for what I believe, need and desire. As I said, if you don't, you get walked on. Don't get me wrong, sometimes saying nothing at all is the right answer, but too many times I have not said or done enough. God is teaching me this no action is sinful, not right.

As I learn these lessons and apply them, please pray that I will continue to be willing to learn and grow from the many, many, things the Lord is teaching me daily.

God Bless.