Lately the Lord has been impressing upon me the importance of living a passionate life for Him.  I have just began reading the book “Passionate Housewives Desperate for God” by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.  (We have it available in our bookstore at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com for those of you who also would like to get a copy of this excellent book.)  The authors emphasize that God’s Word has all the wisdom we need to be the passionate women God wants us to be.  Colossians 2:3 states, “In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”.  Yet, how many days go by when I am too busy to search God’s Word as I should for that wisdom?  Too many, I daresay.  Many times I find myself getting out of bed in the morning with a mile-long to-do list in my mind and yet, devotions and time with the Lord aren’t at the top of that list like they should be.  That must deeply sadden my Lord. 

That point was driven home strongly to me today when my youngest daughter came up to me and asked if I ever am going to start school with her.  “I want to spend time with you and get to know you better, Mommy” she said.  Ouch!  The storytimes on the couch and the quick conversations throughout the day just weren’t enough.  That made me think about how many times God is asking the same question of me.  He yearns for time with me each day.  I also have wondered if I’m passionate about mirroring Christ in my life or if I’m just “getting by”. 

God has an abundant life of joy and blessing available for us if we just seek Him and serve Him without excuses, without reservation, and without doubts.  I yearn to be the housewife portrayed in Proverbs 31 - one who is guiding her family in the ways of the Lord, one who portrays Christ in her community, and one who is blessed of the Lord.  As I am seeking to do this through a closer relationship with my heavenly father and daily devotions, my prayers resembles that of Psalm 119:33-40. 

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end.

Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Incline my heart unto thy testmonies, and not to covetousness.

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and revive thou me in thy way.

Establish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

Turn away my reproach which I fear; for thine ordinances are good.

Behold, I have longed after thy precepts; give me life in thy righteousness.

We have been busy expanding for a variety of reasons.  God has blessed us with another healthy baby who decided to arrive during a blizzard when we were snowed in.  We are so thankful for the fast response of our sheriff, the state plow, and the ambulances who were able to get us to the hospital just in the nick of time.  Baby has been very content and is already sleeping most of the night, which is a blessing for Mommy and Daddy!

We are also excited to announce that God’s Eternal Masterpiece is rapidly expanding.  Because of the demand for homeschool curriculum, we are now able to offer over 10,000 homeschool products.  They include Saxon math, Answers in Genesis creation science curriculum, Diana Waring’s history products, The Story of the World books, Bob Jones, a variety of classical literature, A Reason for Spelling, Betty Luken felts and flannelgraph, and much, much more.  It is going to take a while to get everything on the website, so be sure to check back often.  Because we can get so many products at rock bottom prices for you, you can feel free to contact us by email at godseternalmasterpiece@gmail.com to inquire about various products you may not see on the internet yet.  We’ll be glad to let you know if we have it, what the price will be, etc.   By the way, we still have a few Life of Faith dolls, Life of Faith books, and Faith and Friends dolls left from last year’s inventory.  (As you may know, Mission City Press went out of business.  As a result, we are no longer able to purchase the Life of Faith products which were so popular with girls of all ages.)   Be sure to check out the low prices for Life of Faith under our clearance, books, and toys link at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com.

We are also on facebook and twitter now.  Each week we will be offering specials for fans of facebook and twitter, so sign up today! 

Homeschool conference season is quickly approaching and once again we will be attending various conferences around the Midwest.  Look for us at the NICHE Conference in Des Moines Iowa and the South Dakota Conference.  Other conferences are still being planned on.  We also will be at various church conferences and camps, which we will announce in the near future.  Much of our new curriculum will be exhibited, so be sure to check us out!  We look forward to meeting you in person!

The summer has flown by and once again I am realizing that I got behind on my blogging.  Thanksgiving is now before us, the leaves are all raked, the garden is winterized, the wood is cut for the winter, and I am once again thankful for God’s goodness to us.  As I am teaching the children about the Pilgrims and the early history of our great country, I am reminded that we have an awesome and mighty God.  God’s power was shown again and again to the early settlers as they depended on Him for their survival.  That power has been seen over and over again in our lives this year as we look back and remember what God has done for us.  I think of all the miles we traveled with our bookstore, God’s Eternal Masterpiece,  to various homeschool, church, and camp conferences.  With all the deer that decided to cross in front of us, the mere misses of other sleepy drivers at the wheel, and the poor weather conditions, God saw fit to protect us in amazing ways.  God has shown his power in allowing this little one growing inside me to develop in a healthy and normal way despite the concerns about a possible tumor (which has since disappeared, thanks to our mighty God).  We can’t help, but also praise the Lord for the shelves of food God allowed us to can and new warm clothes for the children (courtesy of our brothers and sisters in the Lord). God has also seen fit to allow God’s Eternal Masterpiece to triple in inventory size, despite the poor economy.  We’ve had the opportunity to minister to many families who were searching frantically for godly books for their families.  What a blessing it’s been to give them what they were praying and looking for.  Another big note of thanks comes to mind.  God, in his loving kindness, has seen how much we’ve missed my mother (and the kids’ grandmother) who went home to be with the Lord 2 years ago.  We praise the Lord for giving us a new mother come this next spring!  What a joy it has been to see my dad once again revived with that sparkle of joy that comes with love.  His fiance dearly loves the Lord and has already shown her love and encouragement to all of us in amazing ways.  Just as we are reminding our children of God’s greatness and blessings to us, I hope and pray that you are also reminding your children of God’s gifts to them.  We have found several items helpful in doing that as we have our family time each day.  You may want to check out the CD “A Thanksgiving to Remember” by Barbara Rainey (available at http://www.godseternalmasterpiece.com/catalog/audio-history-social-studies-c-22_84.html or at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com. 

The Drive thru History DVDs on America’s early history are also very educational for your visual and auditory learners who need to be reminded of God’s power in the development of our country.  Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss is another must-read for moms, especially as this time of year tends to be extra stressful at times.  Don’t forget to take time each day to thank the Lord for all His blessings to you.  Have your kids list each and every one as a visual reminder to them.  (Feel free to send me your suggestions for teaching kids about God’s greatness in their lives and in our country.  I’ll try to post the suggestions as time allows.)  May this Thanksgiving be the best one yet as you remember God’s greatness in your life!!!  

 Becky - God’s Eternal Masterpiece

Life has been hectic around here, so I apologize for not keeping up with the blogs on parenting!  Now that school is out, homeschool conferences are winding down, and the garden is planted, maybe I can be more consistent with my writing!  I’ve had quite a few people ask us how we survive on a limited income with a large family.  As I wrote in March, you learn very quickly to rely fully on God.  However, there are a few other secrets that we’ve learned over the years. 

As many of you have probably figured out by now, it is important to live within the boundaries God has placed you in financially.  We have had to learn this the hard way, but are so glad that God is patient with us.  It is vitally important that we buy on a cash basis and not on a credit card basis.  With a cash (or debit card), once the money is gone, it’s gone.  In the past, we’ve sadly learned that we buy much more when we pull out that lovely little plastic credit card.  We then get into a vicious cycle of not having the money to buy the necessities because we are having to pay off those dreaded credit cards.  Even though it’s sometimes painful to use a cash system, it’s so much more peaceful in the long run.  It’s also important to have a budget to go along side of your cash system.  It’s too easy to spend the money on extras if the bills and monthly allowances aren’t written out in black and white before my eyes.  When I know I only have a certain amount to spend on groceries, I’m much less likely to grab those processed foods, snack items, etc.  Instead I head for the cheaper meats, beans, bulk grains, etc. so that I can stretch out those dollars.  I learned very quickly in life that it is now necessary to get the brand names on groceries, clothing, and cleaners.  Generic brands work just fine.  Many items such as cleaners, for example, can be made at home and are much healthier for you anyway.   I’m also much more likely to take the time to cut out and use coupons, browse the paper for sales, and shop at thrift stores when I know that the money has to be stretched to the max. 

By the way, thrift stores are our favorite shopping centers.  We RARELY buy clothes or household items in a regular store.  I can find almost everything we need at garage sales or thrift stores for a fraction of the price of a new item.  Most of the gifts we get for the children for Christmas are also gotten at garage sales or thrift stores.  I start shopping the day after Christmas and I keep at it until the next Christmas, so the children have learned to give me those wish lists early.  God is so amazing in allowing us to find our children’s “desires” in this way.  And yes, they are almost always brand new still in the packaging.  I still remember how excited I was when I found the exact Lego set my older son wanted at Goodwill.  It was valued at $150.  I got it brand new, still packaged, for $5.  That’s only one of the amazing examples of answered prayer and careful shopping!  When we don’t find what we’re looking for, we take it for granted that God didn’t deem it as a necessity.  Amazingly enough, we seem to do just fine without it!

I encourage you to try living without those credit cards and other means of borrowing.  Instead, aim at living with what God has given you.  You’ll be so glad you did!  By the way, God’s Eternal Masterpiece has several excellent books by Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett which can aid you in your financial endeavors.  Just click on the financial responsibility link on the left sidebar at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com.

As the economy is worsening, I can’t help but think about all of God’s blessings poured out on us throughout the years.  No, they have not been millions of dollars.  They’ve been in the form of godly kids, peace in the home, joy throughout the hardships, food on the table, clothing on our backs, etc. 

Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore, I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; or yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than food and the body than rainment?” This passage goes on to talk about how God cares for even the birds and flowers of the field.  Won’t He care for us even more? 

God has seen fit to reinforce this lesson to me many times throughout my life.  I’ll never forget the 3 years when I was in Jr. High/High School. My dad was without a pastorate for those 3 years and had no regular income coming in.  God supplied for our family of 6 in amazing ways by giving Dad odd jobs.  We’d go to church and find boxes of food sitting on the coat rack with our name on it.  Anonymous money was passed on to us - and the list goes on.  My youth leader bought me my very own Scofield Bible (which I still use today) and my Sunday School teacher took me to the mall in Des Moines to buy me my very own brand new dress outfit.  Those memories are etched in my mind forever.  Was the food always what we wished we had?  No!  We had lots of tube biscuits, bacon bits, a little wild game (which is not my favorite!), and canned foods.  However, did it fill us and keep us from getting hungry?  Most definitely!

God again reinforced the lesson of relying on God for our needs when my husband was in an elevator accident in 2001.  Because his back was fractured, his right foot was crushed, and his wrist was busted, Jesse could not work for almost 3 years.  We had five children during those 3 years and had a mortgage and all the other normal bills to pay.  God showed us on a daily basis His unending care and love for us.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we’d go to the mailbox and find an anonymous money order or cash in the mailbox.  Our utility bill would be paid, someone would call and say they had a pig or half-beef for us, someone would drop off clothes for the kids, a gas card would be passed on to us, etc.  God was so good!  I’ll never forget the day I ran out of laundry detergent.  Because our little boy was suffering from a skin disorder, the doctor had recommended we use Dreft or another skin-sensitive detergent.  I had just laughed and told him that it wouldn’t be possible to do that because those detergents cost a small fortune.  Ah - me of little faith!  My children prayed for the detergent while I half-heartedly did.  That very afternoon, I got a call from a man in our church who owned a trucking company.  He said that he had a truck that had a pallet of Dreft detergent in it that got damaged.  Could I use a bunch of Dreft?  The next hour was spent on my knees crying before the Lord asking him to forgive me of my lack of faith in his care.  For the next 18 months, our family’s clothes smelled like a baby’s as we used all that detergent. 

I also remember the time I was so hungry for fresh fruits and vegetables.  That afternoon we got a phone call from someone who had a lot of extra potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and varied fruits.  Could we use some?!!!  They brought over enough to last us through the winter months.  Do we have a God who cares for even our smallest desires?  You bet!!

As this year continues, it is vitally important that we remember that God will take care of us even during the tough economic times.  We may have to do without those special vacations, foods, up-to-date clothes, etc.  However, we can be reassured that God is right there with us each step of the way.  He does care for us and He will give us what we need.  When the going got rough for us, I’d turn to 2 things - my Bible and my journal.  God’s Word was a constant source of encouragement as I poured over His promises to us.  I also kept a written record of all the blessings God bestowed on us during the times of hardship in our lives.  Now I can look back at that whenever I’m discouraged to help me in recalling God’s showers of blessings on our family.  Our children can also read it and be reminded of God’s provisions.   Proverbs 3:5,6 reminds us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths”.  May I encourage you to keep your eyes focused on the Lord and let Him show you His love during these times of hardship.  God has great lessons planned for you and you can one day look back and say with confidence, “God is SO GOOD”!

We have various financial guides and devotionals available to guide you through the tough time in your life.  They are available at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com. 

Becky, God’s Eternal Masterpiece

I thought it was time to let the children put their point of view on various aspects of our family on our website; therefore, Janette gets to do the honor this week.  Janette is our youngest teenager at the moment and is great at viewing matters from a spiritual point of view.  Her overall desire in life is to glorify God in all she does and says.  At this time she feels the Lord is calling her into missions.

Being homeschooled is a great privilege to me. My mom is my teacher and I like how she takes the time to explain my school to me when I don’t understand it. Homeschooling also means alot of extra field trips which I just love! I’m learning hands-on as well as from workbooks. Some hands-on school that I learn  includes sewing, cooking and baking, teaching, and more. Since I also feel that God is calling me into missions, some of my schooling is going toward that end. I am learning about different missionaries and martyrs that spread God’s word and stood up for Him no matter what. I’m enjoying it and it really helps me to understand the danger and also the joy of going into the mission field. Reading and learning about these people encourages me to know that if others have risked their lives then I can too; and since God has been with them then He will also be with me. Homeschooling is hard work but fun with all the field trips, hands-on learning, and siblings to help me with my problems. I am also able to do my work mainly on my own and I don’t have to deal with all the peer pressure from outside sources while I’m trying to learn.

My favorite items from God’s Eternal Masterpiece include:

-The Evolution Revolution-Patch the pirate from Majesty Music 

-Demolishing Strongholds (an absolute favorite-it taught me how to take a stand in a world that falls for anything)

-Adventures in Odyssey CD’s

-Life of Faith Dolls

-Lamplighter books

-Anne of Green Gables CD-Classic stories for a Girl’s Heart

-Grandma’s Attic Series

These products can all be found at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year Resolutions. Many times our own personal resolutions seem selfish in the light of eternity. Therefore, instead of making those famous resolutions, I would rather go before the Lord and ask Him to allow us to accomplish the following desires of our hearts - with his aid. With all the events occuring around us, I can’t help but believe that the Lord surely must be coming back soon. As I ponder upon the Lord’s return and as I search my own heart and the spiritual growth of my family, I have asked the Lord to allow the following things to occur in our family’s life in the year of 2009.

1. We want to growth in a closer relationship with the Lord and get to know Him more. As times get tougher, it is vitally important that we know our Savior more so that we rely on him with a greater sense of trust. Reading scripture more often as a family, spending more time in prayer, and discussing God’s attributes as we enjoy the daily blessings of God are just a few of the activities we plan to work on. There are several books (listed on our website, www.godseternalmasterpiece.com) we also want to read through and discuss with our older children. Following God With All Your Heart by Elizabeth George, A Man (and Young Man) after God’s Own Heart by Jim George, and A Journey to Victorious Praying by Bill Thrasher are a few books we highly recommend and plan to use ourselves.

2. With God’s help, we also want to continue to build strong godly character in our children. Because we strongly believe in the power of godly literature, we desire to continue our tradition of reading character-building classics to our children each day as we sit around the dinner table. Books from Grace and Truth Books (such as Tampering With Temptation and The Little Medicine Carrier) and Lamplighters Publishing (The Beggar’s Blessing, Saved by Love, Stick to the Raft, etc) are just of few of the many books we enjoy. As we see persecution against Christians growing in our country, we also want to encourage our children to stand strong for the Lord. We will be reading the Salem Ridge Press books such as The Martyr’s Victory and Gytha’s Message to remind us of the persistance of Christians in times past and how they stood for the Lord, even when it meant giving the ultimate sacrifice. This year we also want to help our children to act out what they have learned. Therefore, we are going to do more in the community as a family to live out God’s love to those around us. Working in the community kitchen, witnessing to those around us, helping with fund-raisers, ministering to those in the nursing homes, and volunteering in other church ministry projects are just a few of the projects we’re prayerfully planning and considering.

3. Scripture memory is also an area that we want to continually reinforce. When times get hard, it is so comforting to have God’s Word in our minds to draw upon. We will also be better witnesses when we can quickly recall God’s Word. Our children are constantly memorizing scripture due to Joy Club, Talents for Christ, and Sunday School. However, we also feel that it is important that we memorize scripture as a family. This year we hope to accomplish that better than we did last year.

4. Because our children are a gift from the Lord, and we have no idea how long God has loaned them to us, we have a strong desire to spend more time as a family making memories. Our son leaves us in June to work at our Baptist camp for the summer and then he’s on to Bible college in the fall, Lord willing. My husband and I are earnestly praying that each and every day we have with him will be days that will be engraved in our hearts forever. The same goes with the other children as well. Taking time to spend with the family is hard work at times, but they are precious times that we’d never change!

What are your desires and goals for your family for 2009? We’d love to hear from you and your family. Your ideas can help to motivate others to turn their hearts back to God and their family!

May you have a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2009 as you draw closer to the Lord and reach out even more to those around you!

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I am always reminded of the importance of keeping our Lord and Savior in the middle of our Christmas celebrations.  It is so easy to allow the stress of shopping, practicing for Christmas programs, and preparing for family to interfere with the time we need to relate the true meaning of Christmas to our children, friends, and family.  I get genuinely distressed when I hear born again believers and friends saying “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas.  I want my children to hear “Christmas” and I want them to know what Christmas is truly about.  I want the words of Matthew 1 to ring in my children’s heads as they go about their daily activities.  “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” Matt. 1:21. 

During this Christmas season, we like to focus on Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection during family devotions.  Each day my husband works hard at weaving the salvation message into the family discussions around the breakfast table.  We also enjoy reading reading various books as a family which focus on Christ’s birth, the importance of serving others during the holidays, the importance of giving ourselves to God, and the importance of spreading the gospel to those around us.  Some of our favorite books we have read to help us focus on the amazing love of Christ has been the Lamplighter books, “Joel A Boy of Galilee” and “Titus: A Comrade of the Cross”.  You can’t help but fully feel and realize God’s abounding grace and mercy toward us when He sent his Son to be the Savior of the World.  (You may view these Lamplighter books and other excellent advent books such as Jotham’s Journey on our website www.godseternalmasterpiece.com)

Another important aspect of this season is teaching our children that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Each year we try to do different activities as a family to serve others.  This year we are ringing the bells for the Salvation Army.  The children will be playing their stringed instruments while we do that.  We are also working at making a variety of handmade items to give to those who have truly blessed our lives in the past year and who are struggling this year due to the economy.  The little ones will get involved when we get some items to take for Toys for Tots.  Each year as the children get a little bit older, they are realizing that it truly is much more fun to give than to receive.

We do open gifts in our home, but we do it on Christmas Eve after our Christmas Eve service at church.  That way, on Christmas, we can focus on the true meaning of Christmas - Christ!  The children enjoy it when we sit down and read the entire Christmas story as a family.  While we are reading God’s Word, the little ones get to act out the story with the Nativity figures we keep in the living room just for them. (By the way, we have found it extremely helpful to have a nativity set in each child’s bedroom, as well as in the living room and dining room.  It helps to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas where ever the children are.)  We also have a special birthday cake or coffee cake for Jesus on Christmas day.  Rest of the day is spent with extended family as we reminisce about God’s goodness during the last year. 

I’d love to hear what you do to help your children focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  Feel free to send in any and all of your ideas.  We’ll then post them and allow others to get some new ideas on the subject. 

May you have a wonderful Christmas season as you focus on Christ with your family!

Becky

I have had several families ask us how we celebrate Thanksgiving since we have several various nationalities and cultures in our home.  Well - we do have a few differences, but nothing too strange!  Since my husband is not a turkey person, we do chicken instead.  We keep all the other trimmings, but we add rice and occasionally eggrolls to the table for the Asian food lovers.  Occasionally we have other families from the area in to celebrate it with us.  It’s a great way to introduce foreigners in particular to our Lord and Savior as we reminisce on God’s goodness.  Our most favorite part of Thanksgiving is the praise and testimony time.  Many years ago I purchased plain vinyl placemats for each child.  (As God gives us another child at our table, we add another placemat for him/her.) Before we partake of the Thanksgiving meal, we all take our placemats and grab a handful of permanent markers in various colors.  Then we choose a small 3″x3″ area of the placemat to write and illustrate what we are most thankful for that year.  Each year it’s fun to look over every person’s placemat to see how their praises have changed and how they’ve matured physically and spiritually.  We always chuckle over Daddy’s because each year he draws a picture of God with his arms around each family member.  About every two or three years, another family member with his/her unique features is added to the fold.  The toddlers’ placemats have pictures of their blankets, pacifiers, and bears.  Then that special year comes where there is a picture of the cross to signify that they were saved and added to God’s family that year.  Occasionally there is a picture of heaven to remind us that a loved one has gone on to be with the Lord that year.  After we are done praising the Lord for all his blessings, we then enjoy the food God has bountifully given us.

This year we plan to add on another new tradition.  We are going to see how long of a list we can make of ALL the blessings God has given us.  In preparation, we’ve purchased a big roll of paper and we’re going to see if we can make it stretch across the whole house.  No large writing allowed!  Sometimes it’s good for us to remember all the little blessings, not just the big ones!  We also plan to open God’s Word see how many different passages of thanksgiving we can find.  Last, but not least, we plan to discuss how we as a family can reach out in practical ways to other families with the blessings God has bestowed upon us.  To end tomorrow evening, Grandpa plans to come over to spend the evening with us.  He’s bringing a dramatized story of the First Thanksgiving in America so that the children in particular can be reminded of God’s goodness shown to America.  (We now have this audio CD, Thanksgiving, A Time to Remember, available in our bookstore, www.godseternalmasterpiece.com if you would be interested in it for your family.)

As you celebrate Thanksgiving, may you, too, take the time to remember what an awesome God we serve.  May our children see that we have been blessed beyond measure each and every day of the year.  Most of all, may they see for themselves God’s most special gift to mankind - His only Son!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Everytime we see our children, we can’t help but praising the Lord for allowing us the awesome privilege of raising 7 children for Him.  They are special gifts sent straight from Lord himself.  God gave me the joy of giving birth to our first six children.  Because of their Filipino/Chinese blood, they were little and petite.   One of my doctors had said that I probably wouldn’t be able to have any children after a tumor was removed a month after the birth of my 2nd child.  However, God in his awesome power allowed us to have 4 more beautiful children.  God then turned our hearts to another avenue for receiving these special gifts of children.  As we began opening our eyes to the hurting world around us, we soon saw that there were many children right here in our own country that needed loving families, spiritual upbringing, and a home to call their own.  Although we knew that the child may not come as a little newborn, we said yes to the ministry of opening our home and family to children from other places in this world.  Soon after that God placed a handsome little infant boy into our home.  (No, that’s not quite right.  He was actually a big baby (compared to my babies) and he rapidly put on more weight when we began feeding him on a schedule. We were given a 20 minute warning before he was to be handed over to us.  Although he was constantly wanting to eat and needed special attention in various ways, we and our children quickly fell in love with this bundle of energy.  Before too long, I heard those special words “Mama” and my husband heard “Dada”.  Little Jonathan was constantly wanting to dress up in his brother’s medieval outfit.  When he was only 15 months old, he would tromp through the house with his foam sword, the cape and shield, sunglasses, and my high heels!  He’d have a silly grin on his face and he would quickly get my attention no matter what I was doing!  It soon became apparent that Jonathan had a few extra challenges to work through.  His language skills waned, but that didn’t stop him from singing a bunch of Sunday School tunes with every note in tune perfectly.  Play a classical number and he’ll hum along with it almost immediately.  Maybe he can’t speak, but he sure is brilliant with music!  Isn’t that just like God?  Although He may allow one weakness in a person’s life, He balances it out with a strength in another area.  What an awesome God! 

October 6 was a very special day for us because on that day we adopted Jonathan and gave him our name.  Although Jonathan didn’t realize what was going on, we realized it fully with somberness and yet an air of celebration.  Everytime I get him up in the morning and everytime I tuck him in, I can’t help but thank the Lord for giving us Jonathan in such a unique way.  I can’t even imagine what life would be like without Jonathan there to teach us patience, perseverance, and humor.  It’s an awesome thing to think that God also adopted me - with all my imperfections and weaknesses.  He loved me and accepted me just the way I was.  As God continues, Lord willing, to give us more “special gifts” in various shapes and sizes and with different strengths and weaknesses, I pray that we will not only be thankful, but that we’ll always remember God’s unfailing love shown to each of us every day of our lives.

For more resources on parenting and God’s gift of children, check out www.godseternalmasterpiece.com.