I find myself sitting at the computer once again wondering what thoughts to share with you this season. The word that keeps floating around in my head is patience. I'm not really sure why? Maybe it's because I've had to have a lot of it this year. Working full time, house to clean, children to take care of and nurture, papers to grade, husband to care for. People often ask me, "How do you do it?" I'm not really sure, the only thing I can keep going back to is God, and as soon as I find myself getting irritated or frustrated, I just think of all the patience our Lord has with us.
"Exodus 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness... all qualities of someone who has amazing patience.. do I have these I ask myself? Not all the time!
The phrase 'Abounding in love and faitfulness' kept popping out at me in this verse. Isn't that so true of our God though? Does it ever cease to amaze you the amount of love and faithfulness God has for us despite our weaknesses. Despite the times we don't spend with Him, despite the times we don't go to him in prayer. Patience- that's for sure. He is such an amazing God!
That got me wondering: 'abound' :To be great in number or amount, overflow, run over, to possess in such abundance as to be characterized by.
Well, we definitely 'abound' in children! But do I abound, run over, and overflow, in love, faithfulness, and patience? What about the times when I'm not so 'abounding' in those things? So then I went to this verse, Psalm 86:16 'Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. '
Grant me the strength Lord. Yep, prayed that one time or two. Have mercy on me. Yep, that one too. Turning it over to Him in prayer and asking for those qualities. That's how I do it! (or should do it anyway!) Isn't that how we all do it though? Ultimate surrendering and falling to our knees to ask for help so that we can give him our 'all', knowing that He will pick us up and give us the strength to do it all again the next day.
You see, that's what serving Him is all about. Giving our all, until we have nothing left. Are we drained, yes. Are we exhausted, absolutely! But as my husband often tells me: 'we aren't supposed to be comfortable honey'. Do I 'get' this all the time- NO WAY! Sometimes I need to be whacked over the head a few times to help me remember to do it. But I always get there eventually!
Just as Mary did, so graciously and patiently, even though we don't always understand the whys or hows or whens, we continue to work towards that final goal. The goal of that final day with our Savior in Heaven., where we will be able to relax and be with Him in heaven forever. Won't that be a most Wonderful Day! Merry Christmas and may you find the patience each and every day to 'abound in love and faithfulness' even when you think you can't make it another minute! Go to HIM and let HIM renew you and give you strength! God Bless!
We in the King household have been blessed this year! We have had many wonderful things happen to us this year and we would love to share some of the highlights with you!
Tom
Tom celebrated his first year in the (institutionalized) pastoral ministry in June! He celebrated by having his hip replaced! Yahoo! What a way to celebrate! Now to most of you that doesn't seem like much of a celebration, but for those of you who know him well, he has been waiting for over 12 years for this surgery! It was time, and he was in more pain each day, and knew if he wanted to continue to chase our children around, he had to have it done. The Lord placed in our hands (through the recommendation of a church member) a wonderful orthopeadic surgeon who is doing a new procedure called hip re-surfacing. It has been done in Europe for about 10 years, but was recently brought to America and is becoming more and more popular. The recovery was slow at first, but as he told me the other day, "I sprinted across the parking lot and it felt great!" (This is something he hasn't been able to do for almost 8 years now!) Other than that, he continues to minister to the children at our school, as School Chaplain, at St. Paul Lutheran, and reach out to the many believers and unbelievers out in our world. I have never met someone so willing to talk to anyone about Christ. It doesn't matter who they are, or where they have come from, he loves to talk to them about Jesus their Savior! It's not always very easy, each day comes with it's challenges, and the devil is always working to resist the work he tries to do, but we know that God has put him here for a reason and we will continue to serve Him where he places us.
Tami
I went back to work full time this year and while I love my children, it has had it's challenges. The Lord has given me a wonderful and very bright class of 5th graders, whom I love dearly! They keep me on my toes and not much gets by them. I also have led some Beth Moore Bible Studies this past year that have blown me away! (Patriarchs and Believing God) I really enjoyed leading them and encourage you to take one if you ever have the opportunity to! My own children have been sick a lot the first part of the year (building their immunities!) so keeping my maternity leave days have been a challenge. Thankfully, my dear husband has been splitting the days with me and December has been much better! For those of you who haven't heard or seen the blog in awhile, we are expecting our 5th child in February- a girl! (First time we've ever found out what the baby is ahead of time!) We were thrown for a loop at first, but thrilled that God has given us the opportunity to raise one of His children again! Other than that, most of my day is filled with chasing children and trying to manage our home- I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Christmas break!
Thomas
Thomas is now 5 1/2 and in Kindergarten. He is our thinker, an intellectual one, and has recently taken up chess after Mommy showed him how to play (Thanks Uncle Norm!). He loves taking on anyone who will play him and sometimes just role plays moves on his own to make sure his strategy is up to par! He has also managed his way onto the chess team at school after showing the coach he was more than ready to joing the team and play the older kids (it usually begins with 1st grade). He is reading quite well now and loves showing off his new skills to anyone who will listen. He just finished his first season of t-ball and while he liked it, still has asked us to sign him up for golf instead in the Spring. ("Are you sure?" Daddy says.) Thomas has recently taken up rollerblading with some blades a friend gave us. He is learning quickly. Thomas is a tremendous help with his brothers and sister and also with helping Mommy around the house. We are extremely blessed by his many gifts he faithfully is putting to good use.
Josiah
Josiah is now 4 and in 4-year old pre-school. There's only one word to describe him- mover! If it moves, Josiah does it! He loves school and his teacher and I'm pretty sure his teacher won't move him on simply because she loves him so much! He is a super great helper in class and will do anything his teacher asks of him. He has mastered his letters and is ready to 'know what the letters say'. His biggest accomplishment this last week was when he finally wrote his 'S' the correct way. He was so thrilled!! Josiah also just finished his first season of t-ball and, quite the opposite of his brother, asked when he could play again. He is challenging Daddy on his speed as he is becoming quite the little runner. Josiah is also a great helper to Mommy and Daddy around the house and loves to share with his little brother and sister. We are very blessed to have his help, great attitude and many gifts.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah is now 2 , in 2-year old pre-school, and is talking like a mad man! This is a recent accomplishment as he always understood what we were saying, but wasn't quite ready to verbalize it. I wasn't worried, I just knew his older two brothers were doing the talking for him! Now his teachers are amazed at all the words he can say. He has recently mastered riding a two wheel bike (with training wheels) and is often times found riding circles on the driveway until we tell him to come in. He is a very sweet boy who still loves his Mommy and Daddy very much and often times does not always want to leave us (Funny, I think he came out of the womb that way!). Jeremiah has a winsome spirit, seeming to have some thinking gifts like Thomas while also some action gifts like Josiah. We are very blessed to have him.
Grace
Ah, Miss Grace! She is also now 2 and in 2-year old pre-school and has her Mommy's knack for talking. She has been jabbering for some time now and never really stops. She is a snuggly one, and is always very willing to run up to anyone she knows (and doesn't know) at school and church and give them hugs and kisses. She has a smile that will melt your heart and a 'will' that sends her Daddy flying (He'd rather be flyin!) She is also a fan of 'Grandma at the beach' and is often found calling Grandma on the cell phone just to tell her what she's thinking right now (Probably that she wants a new pair of shoes! How many shoes can a little girl own?). She has also mastered her bike recently and is often found racing her brother around the driveway. Grace has extremely wonderful gifts in many ways, including her love for others, helping, and compassion.
Baby King
Baby is growing just fine and people often look at her and wonder if we have the date wrong. I keep telling them that after the twins, she has lots of room to grow! I do believe she is trying to surpass her big brother's record of 10 pounds- only time will tell!
Sam
Sam is Sam. He is doing well despite all of the children running around. He is getting used to the idea more and more of his brothers and sister playing with him, but still competes for Daddy's attention, especially in the morning. Just the other day he and Jeremiah had a short playing session that seemed to please him. His hip is okay, but still causes him some grief. Food and Daddy are still his two favorite things, except when Grandma comes of course!
Well, that about wraps it up! We hope during this Christmas Season you find time to relax and spend time with family and friends and ponder on the wonderful gift of our Savior from our Father in Heaven. We will keep you posted in February as our new little girl arrives.
As always, January marks the 5 YEAR anniversary of my Uncle's transplant. We are so blessed to continue to have him in all of our lives. Please consider signing the back of your license so that others may benefit some day from your wonderful gifts as well!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
The Kings
