A family celebration & some deep thoughts

Yesterday my sweet nephew, Haddon, was dedicated (in case you aren't up on baby dedication it's kind of in the same spirit as infant baptism in many churches . . . just without the water. The parents dedicate their child to the Lord and dedicated themselves to raising him (or her) to know and love the Lord and do their best to be godly parents.) I had never been to my brother and sister-in-law's church so it was great to see where they worship and be able to better picture them at church and with their congregation! It was a great service and we were so glad to be there! Haddon had quite the fan club there cheering him on and encouraging and supporting his great parents . . . 9 members of the Carlson family ( since there's 7 of us it's adds up fast, plus my parents were there . . . they wouldn't miss it for the world!), 7 members of the Erickson family (Jenn's family) and 8 of Jenn & Luke's closest friends. Afterward we had a celebration at a nearby restaurant. Good food and great times together. Haddon, we love you so much and are thrilled to know that you will be raised in a godly home!

Here are a couple pictures of the cute family and some of the thoughts behind dedication that I appreciated! (note: the pictures aren't great! The lighting wasn't the best . . . they meet in an elementary school gym . . . and we were far away. Plus, Joe spilled apple juice on my camera the other day and it's acting a little funny!)



The sermon brought up some things that had been stirring in my mind already for a little while. We were taught from I Corinthians 13 and although I didn't hear all of the sermon (I was on Joe patrol since the nursery was only for kids under 3, and he's not used to sitting with us in church) I did catch part of it that stuck with me. "Love is patient." The word used in this passage for patient is a word that means patience with people as opposed to patience with circumstances. I think I'd heard this before, but it struck me yesterday because it hit close to home due to some things I had been thinking about lately. I completely understand how patience with people and patience with circumstances are very different things . . . if only our language had different words for them too!

So, this is where it resonated with me: one of our kiddos (who will remain nameless!) usually wakes up pretty grumpy. She (that narrows it down for you) stomps around, slams doors, grunts, screams, cries and generally carries on for quite a while each morning . . . she wants to sleep longer, her clothes don't fit right, she doesn't want to finish her homework, her hair is too poofy (that may have given it away . . . oops!), the jeans she does want to wear are dirty, she doesn't want to practice her piano, her sister didn't pick up her crap in their shared room, she ran out of time and didn't get any breakfast and on and on it goes. It drives me crazy!!!! I talk to her constantly about changing her attitude, trying to not be so grumpy, etc. It's like I'm stuck in movie "Groundhog Day." Literally, we go through the same stuff almost every morning! Almost always, later in the day she will come up to me (sometimes as soon as before she goes to school, but often in the evening sometime or right before bed) and say, in complete sincerity, "Mom, I'm sorry for the way I acted." Every time I tell her that I forgive her and give her a hug . . . but sometimes I also continue the "better attitude" lecture from the morning and get a little grumpy myself trying to get through to her that if she really is sorry she should change her behavior. WOW! So much like my relationship with God. I do the same gross stuff over and over and sincerely am sorry about it later. But, his love is patient . . . patient with people . . . and he loves and forgives me each time without the lecture. I try to learn from that and follow His example, but it's tough!! I feel like if she really was sorry for being a grump that she would do better next time. But she's a child . . . and she really is sorry; I can tell. That's how God thinks of me, I imagine. I am thankful for his boundless love and forgiveness. So, I will keep trying to work on forgiving and wiping the slate clean each and every time . . . and pray for more peaceful mornings!