Psalm 16:11a (AMP)
You will show me the path of life;
In Your Presence is fullness of JOY;
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
29! The Final Twenties Year for my Firstborn!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FIRSTBORN!
29 YEARS!
So hard to believe that you are in your final 'twenties' year! When I see you, I still see the little sailor:
Now here you are, all grown up, a husband, a lawyer, a gentleman I am proud to call my son. This year has been full of beautiful memories for you to treasure, but none more than the moment you will never forget. You are going to be a DAD! A father of a baby girl!
In light of this monumental event in your life, my thoughts went to parenting and how to be prepared and learn from my mistakes.
But first of all, you are definitely not me nor will you make the same mistakes I made! You are starting from a much better and healthier place. Plus you're a guy!
I know you will be an awesome, doting father. (Your brother is already saying he wants to be the best uncle ever. He already has plans for her to be his flower girl! LOL.)
So, my thoughts just went to what God has been teaching me the past few years especially since I developed this 'illness' that seems to not want to go away. I have been healing my union with God not realizing before how 'hardened' my heart had become because of turning inward, becoming numb, instead of turning to Him because I felt betrayed by Him. For too many years! And this deeply affected those around me. My family.
Instead this year, He has been showing me that He has always been present, always with me, except I was not looking for Him. I wanted the ocean, He showed me the skies. He showed me the trees, flowers, and most of all the people around me. He revealed to me His glory that was always there.
In this study I have been doing with Ann Voskamp, she talks about God's first question to man: "Where are you?"
It is a question meant to make you ponder where your heart is in relationship to Him.
So Nate, this is what my heart wants to share with you. Each morning, answer the question, "Where am I in relation to God?"
Do I need to heal this union?
Who is shaping my worldview that will be passed on to my child?
Why is this important?
Because responding to this question and actively nurturing this relationship is going to make you the healthiest parent. Your child needs a parent secure in his relationship to God. A parent whose roots run deep into His Word and His Church. A parent whose love is magnified by the Holy Spirit within.
I read a reflection from Paul Tripp about the mighty oak and immediately thought of you. The mighty oak displays and points to His glory. There is so much of the mighty oak in you! You are hardworking and strong and many people look at you and say 'wow! Paul Tripp says that:
"...an oak is a strong, glorious tree. It grows for hundreds of years and can withstand the most brutal elements that nature throws at it. Not only does it represent strength and is magnificent to look at, but an oil is also vital for life. No other tree in North America supports more life forms than an oak...an oak tree and its properties should stop us in our tracks and fill us with awe. Yes, it is one of the most glorious plants God created, but that glorious created thing is designed by the Creator to be a finger pointing to His glory!
As you stand in awe of His glory, you start to be free from your obsession with your own glory and your constant need to be right, in control, and acclaimed. As you begin to bow to the Creator's majesty, you begin to be free from the dangerous delusions of our own majesty.
Pray that you will always see the glorious One behind the glorious physical thing you are seeing, hearing, tasting, or touching. Look beyond the creation and open your eyes and heart to see the Creator's glory. God, in love and mercy, is inviting you to confess and surrender....
From the beginning, He invites us to know Him, experience His grandeur, and give ourselves to the only thing that makes sense---WORSHIP."
Soon you will look into the eyes of your newborn and feel a taste of the utter delight God feels for you. The love you feel for this tiny human being will fill you to overflowing. (My heart still literally melts when I see you and Daniel!) See the Creator behind this, the apple of His eye, this 'imago dei'.
And worship.
Never stop worshipping all the days of your life, especially when hard times roll in as they inevitably will.
My blessing for you is that you will always be like the oak, a finger pointing to His glory. Rooted in Him, yielding fruit in season, not withering, but prospering and maturing, always knowing where you are in relation to Him.
Psalm 1:1-3 (AMP)
"Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example],
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers).
But his delight is in the law of theLord,
And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night.
And he will be like a treefirmlyplanted [and fed] by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season;
Its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]."
Memories of your past year!
Prayer:
Father, as I look at the glorious 'oak' in Nathan, I cannot help but see You behind him, awesome in glory and worthy to be praised. Would You hem in with Your Presence, letting him see through Your eyes, think through Your mind, touch with Your hands, hear with Your ears, taste with Your lips. Give him a holy hunger for Your Word so that he can ponder and be transformed and grow roots that withstand the most brutal of storms. Give him a desire for community of believers so that he is encouraged and supported. Give him a desire for service so that he shares the fruit of the gifts with which You have blessed him. Give him and Sarah a renewed love for each other that their child will see and feel secure. Continue to grant him favour with 'kings' as he lives graciously and contentedly with integrity. Give him the wisdom for healthy stewardship of his time and energy. May his day start with You and end with You so that Your aroma fills his day and night. Finally, how can I adequately say thanks for the gift of Nathan? He fillsme with such joy and delight. May You always fill him with that sense of delight You feel for him, so that he does not feel he has to strive and be perfect, but just let himself rest as he is in Your loving sovereignty.
So Lord, I surrender my firstborn child to You Who loves Him perfectly. Sustain and protect him from the evil one.
Now to You, O Lord, be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
God of creation There at the start Before the beginning of time
With no point of reference You spoke to the dark And fleshed out the wonder of light
And as You speak A hundred billion galaxies are born In the vapour of Your breath the planets form If the stars were made to worship, so will I I can see Your heart in everything You've made Every burning star A signal fire of grace If creation sings Your praises, so will I
God of Your promise You don't speak in vain No syllable empty or void
For once You have spoken All nature and science Follow the sound of Your voice
And as You speak A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath Evolving in pursuit of what You said If it all reveals Your nature so will I I can see Your heart in everything You say Every painted sky A canvas of Your grace If creation still obeys You, so will I
So will I So will I
If the stars were made to worship, so will I If the mountains bow in reverence, so will I If the oceans roar Your greatness, so will I For if everything exists to lift You high, so will I If the wind goes where You send it, so will I If the rocks cry out in silence, so will I If the sum of all our praises still falls shy Then we'll sing again a hundred billion times
God of salvation You chased down my heart Through all of my failure and pride
On a hill You created The Light of the world Abandoned in darkness to die
And as You speak A hundred billion failures disappear Where You lost Your life so I could find it here If You left the grave behind You, so will I I can see Your heart in everything You've done Every part designed in a work of art called love If You gladly chose surrender, so will I I can see Your heart, a billion different ways Every precious one, a child You died to save And if You gave Your life to love them so will I
Like You would again a hundred billion times But what measure could amount to Your desire? You're the One who never leaves the one behind
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