Coping

I am pretty sure that everyone who would be reading this has read either an email or our carepage on what went on today. Needless to say, we are bumming a little....
A few people have asked us "how are you coping"? I'm not trying to make light of a serious situation, but this is how we are dealing:

Emily "Where are you going?"
Jon "McDonald's"
Emily "It's 10:00, why are you going to McDonalds?"
Jon "For some french fries"
Emily "Jon, you shouldn't eat like that when you are upset. It's a bad habit"
Jon "What? I can't understand you because you have too much chocolate in your mouth. Tell me when you're done eating that Reeces Easter Egg"

Hey...at least it's not alcohol right?

Good Friday

I have been reflecting for the last few days on Christianity in our culture today and have come to realize that according to our values that our actions demonstrate there is becoming less and less room for Jesus. I have been reading a book on this very subject and the author suggests that to be successful in our world you have to live and die by three philosophies:

1) What is in it for me?
2) If it feels good, tastes good, looks good, I'm doing it.
3) What is the least I can do?

Jesus on the other hand says the COMPLETE OPPOSITE. He asks "what's in it for YOU?" He says "I will offer my suffering and sacrifice up to my Father and He will wash over me and make me whole". He asks "What is the MOST I can do for you?".

Perhaps at no other time in history have the philosophies of man and the philosophies of Christ been in such conflict with each other. The author of this book has traveled all over the world and said the differnce between us and Christians 2000 years ago and us is that their faith WAS their lifestyle. Their lifestyle was not in conflict with their faith.

Today is good friday - the day Jesus died for us. How far have we come that we are now living lives that are indifferent to what Jesus did most of the time? When you really stop and process the moment - the pain, the emotion for him and his friends and family and also the creation changing event that was about to happen - salvation - how can we not strive to make our faith our life? What Jesus did for us IS life changing. How can our response be indifference?!

I found this poem today and really feel like it expresses the indifference that is so easy to fall into and also - so heartbreaking to Christ who just wants us so badly.

Indifference
By G. A. Studdert-Kennedy

When Jesus came to Golgatha,
They hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet,
And made a Calvary.
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns,
Red were His wounds and deep,
For those were crude and cruel days,
And human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham
They simply passed Him by,
They never hurt a hair of Him,
They only let Him die;
For men have grown more tender,
And they would not give Him pain,
They only just passed down the street,
And left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, 'Forgive them,
For they know not what they do!
And still it rained the winter rain
That drenched Him through and through;
The crowd went home and left the streets
Without a soul to see,
And Jesus crouched against a wall
And cried for Calvary.

I hope everyone has a happy Easter and really has a chance to meditate, celebrate and remember how MUCH God loves us and what an OVERWHELMING gift He gave to us.

Super Nanny!!

See? I'm still here :-)

Here are some funny pictures of Thad, Stephan and I at work one afternoon. We were goofing off with my computer....

I am not missing!!!

Well, I have not in fact disappeared from the face of the earth. What I have experienced in the last two weeks, ok three weeks since my last post has been so much more traumatic than disappearing...you wouldn't believe me if I told you! Oh we saw it coming sure. Books told me this day would come. My mother told me "don't encourage it". Strangers on the street warned me "your life will never be the same". I thought I knew. I didn't know.
"Walk to Dad Parker Jay" I demanded delightfully. "You are the best little boy in the world! What a good walker you are!" I cheered. I called grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, forming rows of cheerleaders for the boy against everyone's advice. I brought it on myself.
Parker is walking! Actually, I think the correct thing to say is that Parker is falling. He takes one step forward and 15 steps quickly in some direction to try to balance himself. It is hysterical and precious and boy am I tired!

Anyway - my fan sought me out this morning and I remembered that I hadn't posted in FOREVER! My apologies to those who spend time checking :-/ I WILL do better :-)

We left Parker in Dallas with his grandparents after our weekend trip! I have never been away from him before and while I am happy he is having fun, I have to say that I, well we, are something of a mess without him. We are just happier when he is with us! That said, while we are sitting here in the 40's that is Spring in Chicago, he is playing outside in 70 degree sunshine! So we wish him a happy vacation! We pick him up tomorrow night!!!