Well, He Did It!!!

He turned 4, and the birthday party was a smashing success. There were cars and pictures of cars everywhere you looked. Jacob had a lot of fun. He told me his favorite part was when he threw the water balloons in the tires. I still can't believe he's 4, but I learned that turning 4 brought out a new side of Jacob. See picture below.




I guess this is what I have to look forward to this year. . .more pictures with this face.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY again buddy! I love you!!!!

Ode to Jacob

Tomorrow is my son's 4th Birthday!!! I can't believe he is already 4. I am so blessed to have him as a son. He is the most wonderful, beautiful person in the world. God has truly blessed our lives with this little boy. He is so excited about having a CARS birthday party. He can't wait. It will be so much fun.

As I was getting things ready for the party, I thought that it would be cool if I showed everyone what he looked like at each of his birthdays. What a joy he has been in our lives. Here are some things he has done these past 4 years that have made us laugh, cry, and everything in between. . .

Before he was 1. . .
- He loved watching Finding Nemo. He watched it almost every day.
-We called him "The Gimp" when he crawled. He would crawl with one leg correct and the other he would just drag across the floor!
- He was Yoda for his first Halloween













1st Birthday Picure!

1 Year Old. . .
- He raised his hands and worshipped during a David Crowder Concert. It was a very proud moment for Jason and I. I think he knew exactly what he was doing!
- He couldn't talk but he could say "Toot Toot!" because he loved Thomas the Train.
- He knew all of his colors before he was 2. He learned them by us saying Blue like Thomas, Red like James, Green like Percy.










2nd Birthday Picture!

2 Years Old. . .
- One day he just started talking in complete sentences. Smart kid!
- One night while we were praying, he asked to pray for his friend Will. I talked with Will's mom and she told me he was sick the day before but he was better that day. Jacob prayed for him, Will got better, and we didn't even know he was sick.
- When you asked him what worship was, he would say, “It’s my Daddy singing!"










3rd Birthday Picture

3 Years Old. . .

-He always wanted to watch America's Funniest Home Videos. We would watch them together a lot. He would laugh so hard. It was hilarious. He called it "The Funny Show."
- One night at church, his teacher asked him how he knew God existed and he said, "Because of Jesus Christ!!"
- HE LEARNED HOW TO PEE PEE IN THE POTTY!!!!!!!

God, thank you for this wonderful little blessing named Jacob. Thank you for 4 fun years. I pray that he would grow in wisdom and stature and favor with you God. Thank you for his life, and thank you for entrusting him to our care! Amen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!! MOMMY LOVES YOU!!!!!

P.S. - After his party I'll post his 4th Birthday picture!!

Just Like Jesus

A "Reading Through The Bible" Update. . .

Earlier this year, I decided to read through the entire Bible chronologically. (See February 12th Entry) I'm a little behind since I started in February, but still have 4 1/2 months to finish. I'm also doing it the hard way. It says to read the Old Testament and the New Testament simultaneously, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to read it straight through, in order. This morning I finished Judges and started reading 1 Samuel.

I have felt quite convicted in the past few weeks. I haven't read any of it during that time and I feel like it's directly affecting my sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. Instead of reading my Bible like I should have been, I have been doing other things. God woke me up this morning around 4:15am and I immediately knew what I was supposed to do. So, I began to read.

Just in the past 2 hours I have learned so much. It's amazing isn't it? I'm actually learning something from the Old Testament. When I was little, I thought that the Old Testament didn't really apply to me, but it does. We can't have anything new without having something old. I can't have a "new" life in Christ, without hearing what our forefathers of faith struggled through. The Old Testament gives way to the New. It paints a beautiful picture and everything points to Christ. Just in the few chapters I have read this morning I can't tell you how many comparisons to Christ I came across.

My Thoughts For Today. . .

One comparison that really stuck out to me was in the story of Samuel. His mother, Hannah, was barren and unable to have children. She prayed and God gave her a son. She then sent him to live with a priest in order that he would do God's work. In 1 Samuel 2:26 it says that Samuel "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men." I immediately thought, "just like Jesus". (Luke 2:52)

There are certain people that just exude the character of Christ from every part of their being. Those people are wise, they are knowledgeable about scripture, they think, act, and talk like Jesus. They also have people flocking to be around them, just like Jesus did. You can't help but want to be with people that are like that.

After I thought about this for a while, I began to question myself. Am I "just like Jesus?" Do I have people that want to be around me because they see something different in me? Do people see Jesus in me? Do I exude the character of Christ?

Jesus, help me to be more like you every day. Help me to grow in stature and favor with you and the people of this community and everyone I come in contact with. Thank you for showing me all of the wonderful things in scripture today. Help them to be reminders to be just like you Jesus. Amen!