Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Witnessing the Beauty in the Tapestry of John's Gospel

God has given me a unique gift this year that I’m not likely to ever experience again; independently of each other all my Bible worlds have collided on the book of John.


At Christian Veterinary Mission we focused on The Light from John 1:5 but studied through the entire book and finished this month.


At Bible Study Fellowship we also did a deep dive into the book of John and finished last week.


In Classical Conversations, our homeschool group, we memorized John 1:1-7 in English and Latin.


In Isaiah’s Bible Bowl this semester he memorized much of the first 4 chapters of John and will work on more next semester.


In my Sunday School class we are studying the Francis Chan series on John, “Jesus’ Final Message.”


In my personal study I’ve been reading my friend Gloria’s daily devotion through the book of John, “Face to Face with the Father.”


It seems clear that God aligned these studies for me intentionally so I would be remiss not to take note of what He is doing through this hyper focus on my favorite gospel by the disciple whom Jesus loved. 


Some call his writing black and white; I think it’s pure poetry with brilliant parallels woven throughout, some delicately woven by John as the writer, but most woven expertly by God Himself as the author of history. So, pull up a chair if you’d like to see what has stood out to me this year swimming in the Gospel of John.


The narrative starts with its most poetic writing in chapter 1 as John spins the Creation story of Genesis into the birth story of Jesus, both accounts first lines read, "In the beginning..."  Because God is timeless, Jesus has been around since the beginning and is the Word made flesh, the mediator between God and man.


"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." -‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭


In studying Genesis and memorizing the days of Creation with my kids, I have always found it odd that God said “Let there be light” on Day 1, but didn’t set the sun, moon, and stars, in the sky till Day 4, seems like the source of light should have existed before light itself. Unless the source wasn’t really necessary at all… John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Jesus is our true light, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” -John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬.


Skipping ahead, in the 17th chapter, in Jesus’ beautiful conversation with His Father, we see the only time Jesus “wants” anything in the gospels. If I were only going to want one thing, I’m sure it would be for myself, and probably something frivolous like ice cream, but in 17:24, and throughout His ministry really, all Jesus wants is for us to be with Him and know the truth.


Much of John’s telling is prose writing of events that John chose to highlight although he only chose a tiny portion of the works Jesus did. In both John 20:30-31 and in his very last phrase, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." -John‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬. ‭


It sounds a bit hyperbolic to describe such quantity in a 3-year ministry, but as my son, Paul, pointed out, maybe that’s because Jesus has been working in lives ever since, including our own.


Nearing the end of John’s writing, he masterfully brings back other stories full circle. Or should I say God masterfully redeems what has been broken.


In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned and hid themselves in shame. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is illegally sought out in the dark, but instead of hiding like the first Adam, He reveals Himself, the true Light, to His captors. The second Adam, Jesus, gives Himself up in the second garden to make right what was broken in the first garden.


And don’t miss what I had for years, when He initiated the conversation with Judas, the soldiers, and Pharisees who came to arrest Him, Jesus literally knocked them to the ground when He answered, “I am He.” How obtuse were they, clearly in the presence of God Himself, to continue about their sinful business, and how obtuse are we to often do the same. -John 18:6


Although everyone there seems aware they are in the presence of God as they pick themselves up from the ground, Peter impulsively takes it upon himself to defend Jesus, and cuts off Malchus’ ear. After His arrest, as Jesus predicted, when asked if he was with Jesus, Peter impulsively denies three times that he knew Him. What a contrast Peter’s impulsivity through the gospels is to the self-control he exhibits from Pentecost on, showing us how powerful the fruit of the Spirit truly is.


On the third day after Jesus’ death and burial, it’s comical to hear John recount his race with Peter and how he beat him to the empty tomb. My son, Isaiah, asked why Mary left earlier for the tomb than the guys, I said, maybe she didn’t, maybe she just ran faster than either of them. 


It’s interesting how Mary didn’t recognize newly resurrected Jesus at the tomb side, mistaking him for the gardener, but Isaiah said, “Well, she wasn’t wrong,” in John 15:1 Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the Gardener.” And in John 10:30 he says, “I and the Father are one.” So, evidently Isaiah grasps the Trinity better than most of us.


Early in His ministry, in Luke 5:4-6, Jesus tells his new disciples to cast their fishing nets one more time after a long night with no catch. Reluctantly, Peter does so, and his nets almost break with the bounty. After His resurrection, and on the heels of another long fruitless night, Jesus asks them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and a bunch of exhausted disciples skeptically obey and pull in 153 large fish. I love how His power over the sea is proof once again of his divine identity.


A coal fire is only mentioned twice in the gospels. The first, they used to warm their hands as Peter denied knowing Jesus just before the rooster crowed. The second time, Jesus just happened to have some coal to start a fire after His resurrection, when He wanted to restore Peter and forgive Him. Peter was sometimes a simple fellow, so to make sure he didn’t miss the symbolism of His thrice repeated question, “Peter, do you love me?” He used coal for this fire too to make it crystal clear.


In this final parallel, Jesus gives Peter three opportunities to make right the three denials by asking Him if He loves Him 3 times. The first 2 times He asks, Jesus uses the Greek word “agape” for love, meaning God’s unconditional self-sacrificing love, but Peter responds with the word “phileo” (brotherly or friendship love) each time, in my opinion because he’s just been shamefully humbled by his weakness in denying Christ repeatedly, so he’s not his usual brazen self, overstating his willingness to give everything for the Lord. In His third ask, Jesus also uses the phileo love conceding to the term Peter is comfortable with now, but in this reinstatement of Peter He continues by prophesying how Peter will glorify God all the way to his death. Basically, ‘Don’t worry, Peter, you may have been too weak to agape me before, but you will soon enough.’


I love His two commands in this final message to His disciples, "Feed My lambs" or "Tend My sheep," and "Follow Me!” Aren’t these the two calls to action we need as well, ‘Know God and make Him known.’


In Francis Chan’s series on Jesus' final message, he asks you to sit down and picture the Creator of the universe washing your feet. I’d encourage you to close your eyes and imagine this. I was overwhelmed by Christ’s warmth and accepting unconditional love when I saw him look up from my dirty feet toward my dirty heart, made clean by His sacrifice.


What a ride it’s been! If you haven’t taken a deep dive into John’s gospel, I’d highly encourage you to sit at His feet and look up into His radiant face through the inspired words of John. My favorite line is 3:30 when John the Baptist says, "He must increase, and I must decrease." Isn't that the truth for us all!


Friday, February 12, 2021

The One and Only Paul

When the days get difficult again, I want to remember how wonderful this one was.

Paul has been challenging since the day he was born 4 years ago. From his severe allergies to his alopecia, his speech delays to his strong will, not much has been easy with this guy...until today.

Today, according to Paul, it was not only the best Birthday ever, but the best day ever, and I might agree.

It was a day full of his favorite things; whip cream, blowing out candles at every meal, and fun with his family.
Highly recommend a homemade Pizookie!
In the days preceding his birthday instead of whining about things he wanted he said, "Ma don't care what I get as long as I get some fun toys." We're working on his speech, but there are some things I might not correct like combining I and My into Ma.
He woke up to this beautiful sign by Angie, but he didn’t want a picture of it with just him, he wanted his family in the shot.
He also woke up to a glorious ground covering of slippery snow and ice, so his awesome big sister took him and his brother sledding!

He asked if Bubby, his great grandmother in Iowa would be coming to his birthday dinner. When we told him she lived too far away and there was too much snow and ice, he devised an elaborate system of snow plows, tow trucks, and ropes to go pick her up.

He announced early in the day that he needed to go to Target to buy presents for everyone else. And no amount of snow and ice on the roads was gonna keep me from helping bring that idea to fruition. So, he used his Christmas gift card to buy a dozen presents from the Dollar Spot (at least 5 for Isaiah). He originally chose some circus animal figurines for everyone, but I convinced him to go with more personalized gifts to suit each person. After we found the perfect thing for everyone, he said "Now, I just need something for you, Mommy, you can pick out anything you want!"

Watching him living his best life; buying, wrapping, and giving those gifts to everyone (on HIS birthday) almost made this mama’s heart explode. Bob Goff, he’s too young to remember that story from Love Does For Kids that we read over a year ago, but he’s following in your footsteps.
This bag was literally busting at the seems full of his hand-picked presents.
When Isaiah asked him if he could play with his new camera, Paul replied, “Yes, you can play with it even more than you want to.”
Paulie is extraordinary. He is my little sous chef for every meal, he is my constant helper, he is a handful, but his heart is always full. If you are injured he will be your first responder. And today, he was my teacher. Feeling so thankful that God brought this precious challenge into our lives, and that he’s the one starting off Birthday Season, so we can all follow his lead of selfless generosity.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." - Philippians 2:3-4

Friday, November 27, 2020

Unwrapping the Christmas Story

Angie reading to the boys 3 years ago.

You guys know I'm obsessed with the 25-Wrapped-Christmas-Books tradition that I mentioned in my last post. Taking turns reading pages in books that remind us that God loves us so much that He took on human flesh, is a powerful way to spend chilly winter evenings. Some people have asked for recommendations on where to start. So, here's a quick How-To.

First, skim through all your children's books and pull out anything that looks Christmasy. Count those up and look to your local library for the remainder of the 25 books you'll need. It's also fun to add a new book or two to your collection each season though a bookstore or gift from a friend or family member. We're up to over 20 Christmas books in our house now, but we probably only had a dozen or so when we started.

Pro Tip: If you think you might want to do this again in future years, find a separate place on the bookshelf to keep all your Christmas books during the year. It will make finding them again super simple next November when you want to wrap them up, AND it will take them out of the normal reading rotation so they'll be special each December. 

Then you just wrap them, number them, and stack them. I number them so that I can mix up the kinds of books: short vs. long, funny vs. serious, and I save some of my favorites for Christmas and Christmas Eve. Pro Tip #2: if you check some out from the library, put them in the first couple weeks, so you can return them before they're due.

Here are 10 suggestions of titles to look for wherever you buy or checkout books to start off your collection:
A precious and comical depiction of bedtime that any mother can relate to, well, except maybe the manger part... 

Beautiful illustrations and the straightforward birth of Jesus story from Luke 2. 
I always save this one for our very last book. I really don't know why I love it so much, maybe the veterinarian in me can't resist all the animals, but this is a Little Golden Book classic and it's my favorite every year!
We got this one used, and the noise button was broken, a Christmas miracle!
You really can't go wrong with any Usborne book.

It's short, it rhymes, and it reminds us of the important lesson that not all gifts are found under the tree.

h
This one is hilarious and brilliantly touching. Highly recommend! 
We think of these legends pretty much every time we enjoy candy canes now. 
A sweet simple story about a polar bear family and the Northern Lights.
A brand new one by an author we cannot get enough of, Matthew Paul Turner. So excited for his profound poetry set to Gillian Gamble's gorgeous artwork!

I'd love to hear your favorites too. We're always looking to grow our stash of great accounts of the birth of Jesus!

"You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” -Luke 2:12

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Putting Christ in Christmas for Kids

Kids adore Christmas. What's not to love: presents, shiny breakable decorations, sugar to rival Halloween, extra family togetherness, presents, possibly snow, Santa, bright lights, surprises, did I mention presents? 

It doesn't take much effort to make Christmas time special for little ones, the world has filled the season with magic. But it does take some intentionality to make sure our kids don't get carried away in all the festivities (read: presents) and miss the true meaning of Christ's birth.

Here are 10 activities our family loves that help us focus on the true reason for this miraculous season.


1. 25 Wrapped Christmas Books

I'm starting with one of my favorites in case you don't make it all the way through this list. 3 years ago, I saw someone else post a stack of wrapped Christmas books on November 30th, and I was mesmerized. Now, every year, I wrap a collection of Christmas books (both ours and the library's) and number them in order, one for each day of December until Christmas Day. If you missed it, our kids love presents, so each night in December, they unwrap a book and we take turns reading pages together as a family. It's not flawless, there are distractions, even tantrums, but for the most part it's a cozy family time where we repeat the story of Jesus birth over and over. Here are some ideas for how to start this one if you'd like to join us.



2. The Fisher Price Little People Nativity

Like most of you, we probably have a dozen nativities. They're beautiful and meaningful, and oh so fragile. The Little People Nativity Set is amazing. It's wonderfully chewable, and not the least bit breakable or chokeable. Perfect for letting the tiny ones, and older kids, dive right into the action of the manger scene. 


3. A Star From Afar

Another sturdy and safe nativity set we love is the Star From Afar game. An alternative to Elf on a Shelf, this is a great way to talk about how the Wise Men followed the star to find Jesus. Each day parents hide the star, once the kids find the Star, they move the 3 Wise Men to where the Star was hidden, repeating until Christmas Eve. The night before Christmas, you place the Star on top of the the nativity stable and on Christmas morning the three Wise Men reach the nativity scene and find their king, baby Jesus! 

Disclaimer: that's how you're supposed to play, but we usually read through the accompanying book and just take turns hiding and seeking the star.

4. Veggietales St. Nicholas

There are about one million Christmas movies out there, but by far my favorite for explaining where the idea of Santa Clause came from and how he's related to Jesus in a child-appropriate way is St. Nicholas, a Story of Joyful Giving by Veggietales. We watch it over and over all Christmas season and the highest praise I can give any kids' movie is that I don't get the least bit tired of it. 


5. Graham Cracker Nativity

You can pretty much make anything out of graham crackers if you add frosting and candy, so why not get creative and try your hand at a gingerbread manger scene?


6. Birthday Cake for Jesus

A super simple activity to remind everyone what you're celebrating on Christmas Day is to make a birthday cake for Jesus. Because who doesn't need more calories this time of year?!


7. Caroling in a Local Nursing Home

Obviously with COVID this won't fly, but making Christmas cards for residents in a local nursing home or patients in a hospital could be a great alternative way to spread some Christmas cheer this December while we wait for times of being able to visit and sing hymns and Christmas classics to the elderly to be safe and welcomed again. 


8. To Give is Better Than to Receive

This isn't an easy lesson to teach little ones, but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying. Shopping together with your kids for folks who might not have as many presents under the tree as them is a great way to help them learn the joy of giving. Places you can often find wish lists to shop for locals are nursing homes, foster care organizations, Angel Tree Prison Fellowship, and your church. Letting the kids join you to buy clothes, toys, or Christmas meals, doesn't makes the shopping more peaceful, but it could lead to valuable conversations about serving others and create memories of giving together as a family.


9. The Greatest Gift

One of my favorite authors Ann Voskamp has 2 gorgeous versions of interactive family advent books complete with ornaments, activities, and printouts: Unwrapping the Greatest Gift - Family Christmas Celebration and The Wonder of the Greatest Gift - An Interactive Family Celebration of Advent


10. Neighborhood Christmas Open House

This one isn't explicitly about the story of Jesus' birth, but loving our neighbors is much of what Jesus came to earth to teach us, so I think I can squeeze it onto this list. Last year, we decided to invite everyone from our street, and some others from around the neighborhood, over for a Christmas celebration. Everybody brought something to share and every single person met someone new, including us! Possibly the most introverted person there declared it would be a new annual event on our street. COVID is trying to destroy this fledgling tradition before it even picks up any steam, but I'm thinking maybe we'll bundle up and have a fire pit in the middle of the cul-de-sac with socially distanced s'mores and hot cocoa...

However we do it, I'm sure we won't regret sharing the story of God's most indescribable gift of His Son, with our own sons and daughters each year.

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Sweet Aphia

I used to think pregnancy would feel miraculous for 9 months, full of wonder and gentle kicks that remind you of the tiny beautiful life growing inside of you. Turns out, I am not one of those pregnant people. The only thing that made me sad at all about closing the pregnancy chapter of my life was leaving behind some of the maternity clothes I had grown to love. 

On Friday, when Aphia was 4 days old, I told Jon that I actually felt better than I had just 1 week ago; I had more energy and less pain and discomfort than I had during pregnancy and I was only a few days into recovery. This is a far cry from my post-partum pitiful self after the boys and their huge heads entered the world. Although Aphia's head is 76%, she was so much kinder to me upon entry, this is surely a sign of how delightful she will always be to me throughout her life, right?

I do love newborns! If I could just get an epidural for pregnancy and the first few weeks of nursing, we'd probably want a dozen babies. Because epidurals are truly as wonderful as people told me...

I thought everyone was out of their minds when they talked about enjoying labor and delivery, there could not be drugs that powerful. But, there are. Because we had no desire to repeat Isaiah's birth and the ensuing 4th degree tear, or the terror of Paul's dramatic delivery, we opted to plan Phia's arrival as much as God would allow. 

On the morning of February 24th, 2020, her cousin Ava's birthday, 1 month before my 40th birthday, and 1 day before her due date, we went in to the hospital to start induction. (Of course, we had gone to Bonefish for some Bang Bang Shrimp the night before, because we must keep everything fair and equal for all the kids.) After the Pitocin, the contractions weren't terrible at all for the first few hours, so Jon and the nurses actually had to convince me that they would get worse and that I'd been asking for an epidural the whole pregnancy, so I'd probably regret turning back now. Once they placed the epidural my legs started to go numb, but I could still feel the contractions. The nurses and even doctor felt horrible about this, but I was actually kind of glad because it reassured me that yes the pressure was going to turn to pain and it made me grateful for the easy access to my epidural site when the anesthetist came to give me a second drug which took care of the pain right before pushing. I was also grateful for the drugs when both my fabulous doctor and then the nursing team were otherwise occupied for about an hour after I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. Without the pain control I surely would have had the hospitalist deliver another of my kiddos. Although we didn't have an official birth plan, having the OBGYN, that I had bribed with homemade chocolate chip cookies to take me on as a patient, deliver our baby was at the top of our priority list. 

Once the epidural was effective, I must admit, the whole birthing process was basically fun. There were multiple times when I asked if those were my legs as I saw them being moved or brushed past them with my hand. It was all as surreal as the peaceful look on my face in the picture below, seconds after an 8 pound human made her way out of me. 

We are still getting to know this 8 pound darling, as she spends much of her time sleeping. But we will not be fooled, Paul was a sleepy infant as well and now, of course, he is a wild man. Being a huge fan of the author Bob Goff, I can't help but call her Sweet Aphia as he always refers to his wife as Sweet Maria. Whether she turns out to be sweet or feisty, we are thrilled to have front row seats to watch as God's plan for Aphia's personality and life unfold in front of us. 

Although we had hoped to have Aphia join our family a year earlier, I see now that God knew what He was doing as Paul can barely be contained around her now, I can only imagine how hard "gentle" would have been for him a year ago.
 
 "I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers," -Philemon 1:4

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Our Littlest Sunflower

Jon and I were SO elated when we opened the message telling us this last baby would be a girl, for many reasons, but one of them being that we were really over naming boys. 

You may remember that Jon likes traditional easy to spell and pronounce names and I prefer them to be off the charts unusual, but not hard to spell or understand. 

This time, Jon gave me a gift in allowing us to branch out to a very unique name. It’s probably safe to say no one else has ever had quite her combination of names.

Introducing....

Aphia Girasol Charles ðŸŒ» 

Aphia comes from the book of Philemon in the Bible. It means Increasing. She was likely Philemon’s wife and it is perfect that she was referred to as “beloved sister.” We took the liberty of removing the extra P the Bible uses (Apphia) to make it easier to spell and pronounce.

Girasol is the Spanish word for Sunflower. It literally means Turn to the Sun. It was Angie’s original name in Bolivia before she switched to Angelica (see story here.)

So Aphia Girasol means Increasingly Turn to the Sun.

I love the thought of our beloved Aphia being a ray of sunshine in this sometimes dark world. She is already a beautiful light to our family. And our goal for her life is that she would increasingly turn to the Son, Jesus. If she reflects His glorious Light I'm sure others will increasingly turn toward the Son through her little life. 

I'll leave you with this excerpt from Angie's 16th birthday post about Sunflowers:

Angie, mi Girasol, if you remember from the vast fields of sunflowers in Bolivia, they are drawn to the direction of the Sun, and when they face skyward they are in their full glory. Sweet Girl, you too, will be your most glorious, your most beautiful, exactly the perfection you were created to be, when you face heavenward, and look to the Son. Thank you for bringing so much light into our family. I know God will use you to shine into the lives of so many others for a long long time. 

Aphia, that applies to you as well now, mi Girasol.
Mis dos Girasoles 🌻 
Here is her print of the scriptures we chose for her, some from the book of Philemon and others about Increasing as her name suggests.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:16

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Jon's Mini-Me Turns 5


Isaiah is everything his little brother is not. He is careful, meticulous, articulate, sensitive, and deliberate. His vocabulary and speech impress us all sometimes. He is curious but in the genuine kind of way, not just asking "Why?" all the time because that's what kids his age do, but because he truly wants to know. He wants to know the difference between toads and frogs. He doesn't want to just memorize the history on our timeline, he wants to know about the events. He begs to do conversation starter cards with the family at dinner to start meaningful discussions. He invents intricate games and makes up songs about the Bible. He really likes chess, and we argue about how to castle!

At their 3 and 5 year check-ups there was one question I was able to easily and confidently answer the same for both boys though, "Do they show concern for others?" "Yes!" They are both sweet sweet little guys (most of the time.) 


Isaiah loves Home Depot Kids' Workshops, math, new toys, building things, and his family.  

4 has been a fun year. He's been old enough to sit still and appreciate outings. Jon took him to a monster truck rally, I took him to a Paw Patrol production, Angie and I took him to the movies, and we've been to multiple plays. He's tall enough, and now brave enough, to enjoy some big kid rides at amusement parks and even try out skiing. He started a homeschool community this fall, and he looks forward to it every week.

At Legoland, Paulie raced simple cars, we helped him put together, down the track dozens of times, while Isaiah spent half an hour with his Daddy constructing a fancy helicopter with treads (pictured below). He is rarely in a rush, which I could surely learn something from if I wasn't always trying to compensate for his unhurriedness by trying to get us out the door for crying out loud!

You guys, God decided that giving me Jon wasn't enough to refine me. Although I've had Jon demonstrating this laid back pace and calm attitude for 10 years, the Lord still saw fit to give me a mini-Jon in Isaiah. Let us pray that I am learning these lessons that God wanted to show me, about patience and appreciating other's differences, from these two and He doesn't decide to give me a third teacher on Monday in our Baby Girl!

4 is an age that comes with some awkward fake smiles, but here are some truly happy moments that I don't want to forget.


He methodically placed each peg in rows one by one...


Flying Helicopter with Treads

 



Homemade snow ice cream tasting!

His first official day of school.