Monday, April 13, 2009

You're 16, You're beautiful(leading singing on Easter)

Flash back to 1990...Ectopic pregnancy, married 3 years, I'm 29 and considered infertile, "I'm sorry, you aren't going to be able to have children." God proved the establishment wrong once again! Psalm 127:3 "Children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 128 has been called the Builder's Psalm because to the Israelites, the home was an opportunity to pursue the holy task of "building" sons and daughters. In Hebrew the word "banah" is to build: "ben" is son and "bat" is daughter. We as parents were meant to "build" our sons and daughters. Think of Deut 6:6 where we are to teach them diligently, talking of His commands when we sit in our house, walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up. Every part of my day is teaching and training these Gifts from God. Building them up for eternity with Him.
Flash forward to April 13, 2009...and 5 children later. I don't want to waste one moment with them. I want to make each moment count. To reach their heart, to love them as Christ would, to show them Christ in everyday living. But it's a reassurance that He is near, with me each step of the way and He has the best plan. Because I fail. A lot! Without His grace, I would have given up long ago!
So Alexandra Joy came into our lives 16 years ago today. And her parents had a special glimpse of God's grace, that He would prove wrong the wisdom of the world and bless them with this daughter of Joy!
May we give her back, fit for His purposes, a little every day.

6 comments:

Ginger said...

happy birthday sweet alex

Audra Krell said...

So beautiful. She is a miracle.

Tanya said...

wow, what a testimony! Happy Day to your beautiful daughter!

familygregg said...

She is so beautiful. I love her sweet spirit.

LauraK said...

Happy Birthday Alex!

momtofivekids said...

God is so good!

You asked about Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons....

I used the 100 easy lessons book with my middle 2 sons when they were 5 years old. My other two sons learned to read at age 4 during bedtime stories and by playing educational computer games like starfall.com and Reader Rabbit. All my boys are good at spelling, but 2 of my boys seem to be natural spellers.

I do highly recommend the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book. Your child should be reading at a second grade level when you finish the book. Then they can always use Phonics workbooks, games or flashcards if you'd like. I used a book called An Acorn in My Hand to teach spelling after they completed the 100 easy lesson book.