My husbands parenting words: "The kindness of dad should lead you to not want to do those things..." I love how he speaks to our 9 month old like he understands Romans 2:4. I laugh, but it will be awesome if Bear grows up to love obedience because of God's kindness leading him there away from his wrath. This is what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. I often just want to manage behavior, even with my infant. God's kindness leads me to repentance as my son stuffs his mouth full of a leaf from our neighbors tree.
We have been in Denver for 2 and a half years now, and things are getting real. The first year was a blur of adventure, excitement, newness, pain, and growing frustration. The second year was rebuilding and learning to be honest with ourselves. Over the past few months we have moved into a place of both grieving and rootedness. Grieving the loss of being near family and friends, the ones who know us, celebrate us, and taught us to explore and love life. Things are quite different here in Denver than they were in Tennessee, and as we settle in for the long haul moving past newness and into the painful realities of uprooting our lives there, we are becoming grateful for what God has provided here. We have a true family around us in our gospel community group through church. God has provided a safe home with neighbors to love and serve, and who like us and invest in our life. God has loved us faithfully and encouraged us along the 3 years of starting a ministry. God has kept our son healthy for the most part, and his sweet spirit is a gift to our daily life.
We are settling into a difficult season in ministry, as we continue to pioneer Destino at a campus with a high turn-over rate. We are so thankful for the dear students we meet and have a chance to know and grow with, but certainly days seem to get longer and we are tired. For me (Kayla), balancing work and home life with a son proves to be challenging (every parent now nods and sighs in agreement). To all of you who give to the ministry and continue to encourage us with your prayers and notes, please know how we long to see you and thank you face to face. It's your encouragement to reminds us to hold fast to God's promise and call to love students with Christ's love and share the Gospel that keeps us all hoping.
By popular demand, here are some photos of Bear over the last few months. Month 8 was astounding, he really is becoming a little boy.
 |
| Not his favorite place to be, but as long as he has something in his mouth... 7 months |
 |
| Sassy like his momma. The boy loves to eat. |
 |
| Starting to move from army crawl to hands and knees! And so it begins... 7.5 months! |
 |
| Hanging out on the front porch with our sweet friend in Destino! |
 |
| Eating finger foods and LOVIN IT! 8 months |
 |
| Morning face, when did sleeping in mean 7 am? |
 |
| Getting the hang of crawling! Right at 8 months! |
 |
| His favorite place :: the front porch, home of tiny holes in the concrete filled with dirt! |
 |
| Getting really good at climbing! 8 months |
 |
| Destino Rocky Mountain Getaway |
 |
| The human knot at Destino RMGA |
 |
| Santiago's picnic style. Yes, we let him try some...and he loved it. |
 |
| Dad & Bear in the front lawn, look at that beautiful grass! (9 months tomorrow!) |
No comments:
Post a Comment