Trick Or Treat

Monsters came to our house on Halloween night.

Preschool Fairy Tale Dress up Day

Tinkerbell

 Halloween Girl

Ballerina

He's "Star Trek Guy."

Notice the Tricorder.

Notice the Star Trek pin

and phaser gun.

 On the neighborhood "Trail of Treats" with friends

Mommy and Daddy dressed for the occasion too.

Lubbock Cousin Fun

Last weekend, we made a very long drive for a very short visit with some of our favorite people in Lubbock.  We have decided that long drive and all, it is totally worth it, no matter how long we get to stay.

Lovin' on Aunt Robin

Pancake Breakfast at the Apple Orchard

Abby, unusually adventurous and helpful, climbing a tree to get at the best ones

Isaac, trying to eat the world's smallest apple

And, she found the world's most perfect apple

Hay Ride Time

Abby, loving on a "baby" pumpkin that I didn't let her keep (mean Mom)

Backyard fun

Not sure if that's going to work, boys

Duck duck goose

My "baby" needed his momma and actually fell asleep quite snugly on my lap.

Sweeeeet boy.

The day after the long drive home, Isaac brought his teacher and each of his classmates an apple that we picked.  Fun!

Successful parenting moment of the day:

Taught Abby to roll her eyes whenever Daddy makes a lame joke.

Rainy Day!

We haven't had a good rain all year.  You could say we enjoyed the good rainy day we had this weekend.  And I could pretty much just sit and look at this little girl all day.  What a joy.

Believing God

Forgive me if you choose to read this and it sounds preachy.  I learn best by writing out my thoughts and I am excited about the latest wave of inspiration and learning I have gained through studying God's word.  I am going to attempt to put it in my own words here.


In studying the book of Galatians, my small group and I have been learning about how faith is so much more than just believing in God.  "You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the demons believe--and tremble!" (James 2:19).  We took note in our study last week that Abraham was accounted a man of faith not because he believed in God, but because he believed God.  --"just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham" (Galatians 3:6-7).


I've understood this concept for some time now, but this study has given me a way to put it in words: Saving faith is so much more than just believing in God.  We must believe God.  That means, like Abraham, we must know and believe the promises God gives us.  The scripture quoted in the Galatians passage above comes from Genesis 15:6 and refers to the promise God gave Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  God spoke this promise several times to Abraham, especially in reference to the promise to give Abraham's descendants the promised land forever (Genesis 12:7, 13:15, 24:7).  


But in Galatians (see Galatians 3:16-18), Paul explains that Abraham understood these promises as so much more than just many children and a land to dwell in.  Abraham understood that in the promise of innumerable descendants (literally seed), God was actually promising a fulfillment of His original promise of a messiah.  To better understand how Abraham could have gotten that message, I took a look way back at Genesis 3.  As God is explaining the curse Adam and Eve have incurred by their sin, He also promises that their Seed (a descendant) will one day destroy the serpent who deceived them.  He says to the serpent: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15).  Way back at the fall of man, God explains that in the end, Jesus wins!  What's a bruise on the heel to a crushing blow on the head?!


Abraham heard God's promise to him and believed God.  He believed that God would fulfill His promise to bring salvation to His people.  And he believed this promised Seed would come from his descendants (which, check out the lineage of Christ in Matthew 1: He does!).  Basically, that means that before the law was given to God's people through Moses, four hundred and thirty years later according to Paul (Galatians 3:17), Abraham knew that it was not by following the law that anyone would be saved.  Abraham knew that it was not by sacrifices that he was truly made right with God (Hosea 6:6).  Abraham believed God.  He believed God's promise, and Paul explains that Abraham's salvation came only from belief in God's promise of a Savior who would do for him what his own law-abiding and sacrificing could not.  Before the Messiah actually came to save His people, Abraham believed that his salvation would come through Him alone.


Knowing this about Abraham helps answer one of those tricky questions of Christianity.  What about all the people who died before Christ?  How could they be saved if faith in Christ alone is what saves (John 3:16, 14:6)?  Just like Abraham, they could believe God.  They could believe that God's Messiah, promised way back in Genesis 3, before a single human died on this earth, would save them from their sins.  If only they believed.  The laws of Moses, as Paul explains in Galatians 3:17-26 (and Jesus explains in great detail in Matthew 5:18-48), were given by God to emphasize to us our inability to earn our own salvation.  Our salvation comes from believing God's promises.


This is a huge concept (as you can see how many scripture passages it takes for me to explain it!)  But the coolest thing has been to see the ladies in my group applying it.  To believe God defines the need to study God's word to know what His promises are.  The ladies in my group are digging in to God's word with hunger!  As we grow in our knowledge of God's word, we see the contrast between His promises and the lies on which we base some of our decisions.  Then, we chose to believe God and our decisions change.  We base our decisions and our life on the promises in God's word.  The experience of growing in God's word is powerful, as God is powerful to bring it about, and I pray that He will continue to transform us as we continue to discover and believe His promises.

Walk for the Cure

This Saturday we walked for the third time in the Komen Race for the Cure.

 The first time we walked (2009), my dad was still in the middle of his chemo treatments.  (Here's a link to the original post from 2009: Race for the Cure)

Dad with Uncle Joe and Lindsay.

It was great to see the kids pulling him over the Survivor Finish Line as he reclined in the wagon.  It sure is good to be celebrating two years of him being cancer free.  Thank you Lord!

 Here is an article that was published on Dad's story by Your Houston News: "Beating Back the Bear"