A Shepherd Boy or a King?

This week has been a big week in our family. Our first born child left the familiar comforts of home and started pre-school! She was so excited to be going to school, and Joey and I were confident in knowing that this was her next step and the next phase for her, and she was going to a school where she would be well taken care of. 

As Abigail is “out on her own” more, and this new experience officially begins her educational journey – which is such an integral part in our overall journey – I have been praying that God would use this time away to nurture her, grow her, and mold her little self into who HE wants her to be. That these early years would gently guide her into becoming the young lady, and eventually the adult, that God desires her to be. 

So I think it was no accident that I came across a particular verse in 1 Chronicles this week. At this point in Chronicles, God was reassuring David of His promise, and says to David: 

“I chose you to lead my people Israel when you were just a shepherd boy, tending sheep out in the pasture.” 1 Chronicles 17:7

What struck me is that here was this lowly shepherd boy, who others probably had little hope for, and yet GOD saw his eternal and magnificent potential. God chose the most unlikely young man to lead HIS own people. 

This reminded me of a song my own father used to sing, called “Shepherd Boy” that looks at the choosing of David to be King. Part of the song says:

“So when others see a Shepherd boy,

God may see a King.

Even though, your life seems filled, with ordinary things.

In just a moment,

He can touch you, and everything will change.

So when others see a Shepherd boy…. GOD may see a KING.”

Throughout the week I haven’t been able to get this verse, or song, out my thoughts. As a mother, it’s really convicted me… 

What do I see when I really look at our children? Do I, as their mother who knows their strengths and weaknesses, unknowingly put limitations on them? When our daughter says she wants to be a doctor, do I ever so quickly think “yeah, that's too hard” in the back of my mind? Do I unintentionally place boundaries on their potential by rationalizing reality? 

Do I only see a shepherd boy? 

Or as a mother do I see our children through God’s eyes, with unlimited potential and eternal and magnificent purpose? Do I trust and believe one hundred percent that God has great plans in store for them that my mind can’t fully comprehend? Do I fully encourage every dream, praying and knowing that God will direct them? 

Do I see a King? 

I pray that as a parent I can look at my children, and pray for my children, and love my children fully in this way, “For when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a King.”

Teaching Children to Worship

WORSHIP… 

                A word that evokes so much thought, so much emotion, and at times so much controversy. 

What IS worship? How DO we worship? What is INVOLVED in worship?

It’s a topic that there is so much ambiguity about, yet it is so vital to who we are as Christ-followers.

This past Sunday at church our Senior Pastor, and my very own husband – our church worship pastor –taught on the popular topic of “What is Worship?”. 

In summary, we learned that worship:

-          Acknowledges God as WORTHY of our praise.

-          Is our PERSONAL RESPONSE to all God has done for us.

-          Is SACRIFICAL and SUBMISSIVE. We offer God all that we are, and expect nothing back in return.

-          Is not just singing. Worship involves our thoughts and our actions too.

-          Is a LIFESTYLE, not just what we do on Sunday mornings.

-          Involves LOVE and OBEDIENCE.

-          Includes loving God with all of our HEART, SOUL, and MIND.

As I’ve been pondering over the lessons of Sunday and how to have a life marked by genuine worship, I was struck with my responsibility as a MOM. 

I want my children to grow up learning about God, and learning to LOVE God. I want my children to understand WORSHIP, and how to have a lifestyle that HONORS God – a lifestyle marked with genuine, loving, obedient worship.

So I’ve been brainstorming a list (although not an exhaustive one – I know there is much more) in which, even while children are at a young age, we can begin to intentionally instill these qualities within our little ones in hopes that they grow to LOVE GOD with all their Heart, Soul, and Mind. 

1.       Teach them SCRIPTURE.  Even as newborns, recite verses to children. As they get to 2 and older, they can memorize the verses themselves. Here are just a few (abbreviated) verses that work great for instilling qualities of worship, and could be taught at an early age:

a.       “Be KIND to one another.” Ephesians 4:32 (This could even be shortened to “Be Kind” for very young children). This verse instills how we should treat and love others.

b.      “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul.” Proverbs 16:24. Another verse about how to treat others and loving others.

c.       “God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7. This verse teaches about giving to God freely and sacrificially, teaching children at a young age that all belongs to Him.

d.      “Be Still, and know I am God.” Psalm 46:10 – This verse emphasizes a trust in God’s character.

e.      “God created the Heavens and Earth.” Genesis 1:1 –This verse establishes God’s power.

f.        “Children obey your parents.” Ephesians 6:1 – This verse instills the importance of obedience. Children must learn to obey their parents before they are willing to submit to and obey Christ.

g.       “Love God with all your Heart, Soul, and Mind.” Matthew 22:37 – A verse that shows the qualities of a life marked by Worship.

2.       Teach children to GIVE THANKS.  As young children are learning to pray, teach them to thank God for something special in their day that happened, or something that made them happy. Let them learn to thank God even for the little things in their day.

3.       Teach them about SACRIFICE.  It’s Sunday morning… we are rushing out the door to barely get to Sunday School on time and our little child asks for money for her Sunday School offering. We grab some change off the dresser, shove it in our child’s little fist, and then run out the door. It’s a scenario I’m sure we’ve all faced more than once. I know I have! J

But what is that teaching our children? It teaches them nothing about sacrifice, loving God through giving, or personal responsibility. Here’s an idea to keep the Sunday morning “offering rush” from happening, while teaching children to sacrifice and give at the same time:

When your children get money - whether it is allowance, earning chore money, or just money they found in the couch cushions- have a baggie or container for “JESUS” money. Explain to children that for all God has done for us, we give a little bit of our money back to him. Have the child choose an amount to put in the “Jesus” baggie, and praise their willingness to “give to Jesus.” Then on Sunday morning, they can proudly take money that THEY have collected to give at church.

I’ve learned from experience that doing this – having a child give their own money to Jesus – makes children very proud of themselves, and also very eager to give! Putting money in the “Jesus” baggie becomes a source of excitement, which is also a good teachable moment to emphasize the “God loves a cheerful giver” verse. Plus, they are learning sacrificial giving at the same time. It’s a win-win!

4.       Teach them about God and WHO He is through Bible Stories.  Get a family devotional, children’s Bible board books, Bible videos – anything that will teach children those “classic” Bible lessons so at an early age they know about God’s power to perform miracles, heal the sick, protect his own people, make coins appear in a fish’s mouth, create the universe, love the unlovable and outcasts, etc. These lessons teach children from an early age about the power, person, and character of Christ.

5.       Let them SING!!!   There is nothing sweeter than hearing a child belt out an old Sunday School standard like “Jesus Loves Me” or “This is the Day” Have good Christian music on in the house and in the car. Sing to them, sing with them – just fill them with Christ-honoring music and encourage them to sing!

6.       Be their EXAMPLE.  As a parent, this can be a tough one because of busyness and just an overall lack of time, but it may be the most important point on the list. Our children have no greater resource to see a lifestyle of worship than watching their own parents.

a.       Let them see you, and hear you, pray.

b.      Let them see you reading your Bible. And make a point to tell them that’s what you are doing.

c.       Let them see you going to church faithfully.

d.      Let them see you being kind to others.

e.      Let them see you giving.

f.        Let them hear you talking about God.

And that’s my list… Not an exhaustive list by any means, but hopefully a good place to start. 

Just a few practical ways to help our children develop a life marked by worship - a life that will honor God with love and obedience, sacrifice and submission, and a surrender of heart, soul, and mind.  

As parents our task is great… but its rewards are far greater. 

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

Leaving a Legacy – Lessons from the Kings of Israel and Judah

As I started reading the book of 1 Kings, I must be completely transparent and admit I wasn’t sure the course of “then he was king… then he ruled… then he was king” would be all that enticing. But, as the pages unfolded to tell the lineage of the kings of Israel, and then Judah, what spilled all over the pages was a striking lesson on the incredible impact we have in leaving a legacy for our families.

A quick recap of where it all started(I Kings that is) … It began with David, who was a man after God’s own heart – a phrase we hear all the time. Although not perfect, David led Israel – and members of his family - to love and honor God, and he brought great power to the nation of Israel. His son Solomon was the next to reign, and during the first portion of Solomon’s reign, his “reputation…brought honor to the name of the Lord.” (I Kings 10:1).

Solomon was following in his father’s spiritual footsteps, as David had left him a legacy - a spiritual heritage - to follow. David did what all father’s should try to do for their children – he brought Solomon up to honor and obey the Lord. In fact in chapter 9, verses 4-5, God tells Solomon: “if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did....I will establish the throne of your dynasty forever.”

This confirms that not only was David successful in leaving a legacy of faith and godliness to at least some of his children, but it also confirms that God ultimately blesses those families that serve HIM faithfully.

But the story doesn’t end there. Unfortunately – Solomon got distracted. We all see those “shiny” things that capture our attention, our time, our talents. Temptatations that would pull our attention from Jesus and His love are everywhere, and how easy it is for us to get side-tracked. Solomon did. I Kings 11:2-3 state: “The Lord had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry…because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods. YET Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.” (Emphasis on YET my own).

The key word there is YET. Solomon knew what was right; likewise he knew what was wrong. And he did it anyway. He saw something shiny, something he wanted, something that, at first glance, appeared better, something that was a great temptation to him – and he folded.

This slippery slope, this initial distraction away from God and HIS ways, lead Israel to idol worship, raised up enemies against Solomon, and would ultimately lead to the breakdown of Israel, the death of Solomon, and a new generation of Kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord (to be discussed further in Part 2).

My take away here is a two-fold.

First, David wasn’t perfect. He sinned. But God used him in a might way, and because David was faithful, God planned to use the family of David in a mighty way. As a parent, I’m not perfect. I sin. As my spouse, Joey’s not perfect. He sins. But if we allow God to work in us, and we have a heart for him, as David did, and we establish a legacy for our children, as David did, what blessings will God bestow upon the generations of “Colsons” yet to come from us and our children?

Secondly, Solomon had everything. He had wisdom, he had power, he had wealth, and he had the blessings of God. But he got distracted. Something pulled his attention away from the Lord. And how quickly his legacy changed. I pray that I don’t get distracted – even when it gets hard and I grow weary. I pray that each day I can focus on moving forward, obedient, and strong in my faith so that my legacy doesn’t become tainted, leaving my children spiritually weak and ungrounded.

Of course, a nation isn’t at stake – but my family is.

I guess my challenge for those reading this would be: Are you leaving a strong legacy of faith, grounded in Christ, with a family “reputation…[that brings] honor to the name of the Lord” or are you getting distracted? Your family heritage may depend on it.

2011 Highlights

A year in review… Looking back at the highlights of 2011:

Just the other day, as Joey and I were holding our annual “Colson Budget Summit” for 2012, we took time to take a look back at our financial obligations, challenges, and outcomes from 2011. But we didn’t just stop there. We then also listed out all the ways God provided for us in 2011. It was a refreshing practice to sit and list out so many of the blessings of 2011 and reflect on how God brought our family through another year. As we looked at our “list,” it went much further, beyond just finances – as we reflected on 2011 we were able to see HIS provision for us and how HE continues to be faithful – in all things. In many ways, 2011 was both a year of settling down and a year of change, and also a year of blessings and dreams fulfilled.

First and foremost, this was our first entire year in our first home! In many aspects we are still getting settled - rearranging, reorganizing, and cleaning out! We are starting to understand what it means to be home owners too! It’s a great blessing to have our home and we love it, but we were definitely spoiled having a landlord to call all those years we lived in Virginia! Throughout the year, we were able to complete many “home improvement” projects that included: painting and decorating Benjamin’s nursery, painting our bathroom, putting new light fixtures in both bathrooms, painting the dining room and bathroom, putting up chair rail, and retouching much of the paint on the outside doors and windows. We had the help of friends and family to complete many of these projects, and that definitely helped these two home owner “newbies” :)

In May, perhaps the greatest blessing of 2011 and dream fulfilled came in the form of our precious little boy Benjamin Harper. He was born on Mother’s Day, May 8, 2011 and he is sweeter and lovelier than I could have imagined. He’s got a precious disposition and his smile and big blue eyes can steal anyone’s heart. What an incredible joy he is to our family!

Benjamin’s entry made Abigail an official “Big Sister” and she plays the role quite well! She is very inquisitive of what he is doing, what he needs, and how he wants to “share” his toys. Abigail continues to amaze us with her abilities to count, do her letters, shapes, colors, and just digest and remember information! She really enjoys “watching daddy sing at church” and going to Puggles class in AWANA. Our big girl turned 3 this year, and loves dolls, ballerinas, having tea parties, and playing outside.

Another significantly huge milestone for our family happened in June, just after our 8^th wedding anniversary, when Joey officially celebrated his FIFTH year of remission and being cancer free. I remember when Joey was so very ill, and doctors weren’t sure if he’d make it through the year, and a five year remission anniversary seemed so distant. But God healed Joey then, and continues to sustain his health now. To celebrate this particular milestone, Abigail and I decorated the house with yellow streamers and balloons, took a yellow and white cake up to church, took him out to lunch, and got him a shirt that said “ReMission Accomplished.” It was a wonderful “5 Year Cancerversary” celebration.

October 2011 brought the one year anniversary since we packed up our Uhaul and left Lynchburg, and moved to Hartsville, also marking Joey’s first full year as the Worship Pastor at Emmanuel. He absolutely enjoys his job and the wonderful people he gets to serve with and work with.

Those are only a few milestones from the year, but each made a significant impact not only in our 2011, but in our lives, and each shows God’s faithfulness to us. As we look ahead to 2012, I pray that it is a year we can be content in knowing that HE is faithful, wants the best for us, and guides our steps and directs our paths.

**I wrote this blog post a bit over a week ago (just never got around to posting it), without any idea of what would unfold in the days ahead – surgery and days in the hospital for our little boy, mounting medical bills, unexpected time from work, and pure exhaustion. I think the final paragraph – the final sentence – were perhaps words God gave me to type then, knowing I may need them days later, just in time for the first challenge of 2012. “HE is faithful, wants the best for us, and guides our steps and directs our paths.”

Benjamin's Birth Story

Today my sweet baby boy is one month old. So I thought it fitting that I use today to write out the story of his incredible birth.

Benjamin’s Birth Story

On Sunday, May 8, I had big plans to celebrate Mother’s Day. I was four days from my due date, and was ready for a day of being spoiled, and having yummy food that I didn’t have to cook! Early Sunday morning Joey headed off to church as usual for service prep, and Abigail and I spent the first part of the morning cuddling in bed and watching cartoons. Soon though we were getting all dressed up to go to church and celebrate Mother’s Day. I had carefully made sure the whole family was color coordinated for the special day (blues and peachesJ), and I had plans for a lovely steak dinner (which I was seriously craving!) after church that day! It was to be a perfect day!

As I was moving around getting dressed, I noticed, well, to keep it less than graphic – things kept getting wet. Honestly, I thought the baby was on top of my bladder and I was having “control” issues! HA! This went on the entire morning, and I finally determined that perhaps my water was breaking. With Abigail my water didn’t break and this was a new “issue” to figure out. So I called my sister and told her what was happening, and asked her if she thought it was my water breaking, to which she gave a resounding “YES!” and said she’d have her phone on all during church and to text or call right away with an update after I talked to Joey.

Let me rewind for a moment… on the night before, Saturday, while sitting at dinner, I was whining to Joey that I knew I was just going to end up with another c-section if this baby didn’t come on his own. I was whining, in a very “10 months and ready to pop” kind of way, that I was 4cm dilated, effaced, I had been walking, and done all I could do and I just KNEW this baby wasn’t going to come. Which, in turn, meant c-section #2. He assured me, as the kind, loving, patient husband he is that it would all be fine, and there were still a few more days for things to happen. What a good, insightful man, who was about to get the phone call to let him know that he had been right! J

OK, so back to that morning…

I hung up with my sister, and looked at the clock, and saw it was just before 10am, and Joey would soon be heading to the choir room to warm up the choir and then to start service. This was my only chance to catch him. So, I called him right away, and told him I thought my water was breaking. He was SO excited. I could just hear it in his voice! We tried to come up with an immediate plan to get Abigail where she needed to be, but just weren’t making much sense. Finally we came up with a plan, and looking back, it all makes me laugh. But, ultimately, I packed Abigail up, drove her to church (yes, with my water leaking), took her to the nursery, met up with Joey who had just finished conducting the choir, and then we came home, packed up ourselves, and off we went to the hospital – still in my dress, high heels, jewelry and all.

Upon arriving at the hospital, close to 12o’clock, my water broke completely, and we were whisked upstairs to the Labor and Delivery floor. We were on our way to have our baby boy, and it looked like our VBAC was going to be a viable option.

Once we got settled in, I was already at about 5cm, and hardly having any contractions – it was great! Joey went down to get our bags from the car, and on the way saw a teacher from the church school, and she and her husband ended up going to get Joey lunch! It was so very sweet, and I was a good little wife and let him eat his Wendy’s right in front of me while I munched on my ice chips J

A bit later, at about 6 or 7cm, I finally gave in and got the epidural. WHEW! Now, that is a miraculous thing right there! I mean, it was nearly instant pain free labor. That anesthesiologist is a good man.

Soon after the epidural, my contractions slowed down a bit, so the doctor – who was AMAZING – decided to give a bit of pitocin just to get the contractions stronger because I was already dilated so much, he wanted to get the baby moving more to avoid a c-section.

I must pause here to say that God absolutely had the perfect doctor on call for our delivery. He was positive and kind with a great bed-side manner, we saw him get very serious when needed, and he was all for a VBac if it could be done safely. It was an answer to prayer to have this doctor, and I am so grateful for him!

Around 5pm, my mom arrived from Charleston! We were so excited she was able to get to the hospital on time, and offered to let her stay in the room for the delivery. It was not only very special to have her there, but she was on camera duty and got some great pictures throughout the afternoon and night, but she also provided us with some great entertainment!

My mom started a “game” on Facebook so people could guess when the baby would be born. Well, it took off!!! At one point, we had nearly 100 posts and comments with guesses about when he would be born. As time started passing, the nurses would say “Well, whoever guessed 6 just lost.” Or “Tell people I think it will be closer to 7:30.” So, the nurses were in on it, my mom was reading the posts to us, we were all laughing, and even the doctor got in on the fun. It was great to have such a laid back labor and delivery room!!!

By 7pm, I was almost fully dilated after being in the hospital for 7 hours. Once again though, my contractions weren’t strong enough to move the baby, so the doctor upped the pitocin. And sure enough, by 8pm I was fully dilated and ready to push (but not before my mom posted this on Facebook so people could update their guesses in the “birth time game”) J

And so we began pushing. I naively thought it would be a few pushes and out would come my beautiful baby. Was I wrong! Half an hour in, I thought I had made little progress, and was getting discouraged, despite the encouragement and kind words from the nurses and my sweet Joey. An hour in to pushing, still no baby, and I was getting exhausted. The doctor gave me a 15 minute break to relax – I took it!

Before we started up again, the doctor offered to use a vacuum, but I said not unless it was absolutely totally necessary. So, we started pushing again. At this point, I could really start to feel pain – significant amounts of pain. My epidural was wearing off. They tried to make adjustments, but at the end, this would turn out to be a blessing in disguise because actually feeling the pain of the labor allowed me to push better and finally get my baby boy out!

Well, during the second hour of pushing, that room got ridiculously hot, I was eating ice chips left and right, and was getting more exhausted by the moment. But, we still managed to keep the overall mood in the room was still rather laid back and I was candidly honest with them about how I was feeling - so much so, that it was quite out of character and looking back now I just laugh at some of the things I said! My mom was in the corner, texting a play by play of the events to my sisters, including all of the comical and straightforward remarks I was making. Joey was ever steady, and didn’t leave my side. We were all taking bets on if our newest addition would come out with blonde hair like his big sister had done, or surprise us all and come out with dark hair. The doctor was rocking in the rocking chair at one point with his eyes closed, just letting the nurses guide me along, then he would sit up, take a peak, and slightly holler “push Cynthia!” then go back to his rocking chair or his Android phone.

Following a check, the doctor said “how big was your other baby’s head?” I said “in the 90^th percentile – thanks for bringing that up right about now.” And everyone laughed, and the doctor said “well, I think we’ve got another big head here.” To which I mumbled something, laughed, and kept pushing.

While we were in the second hour of pushing, we found out that because I was a VBAC, the entire operating room staff had to stay on the floor until the baby was born! So, they weren’t going home until I had that baby. One of the operating room nurses came in and said “ok, let’s get this baby out!” and yelled at him to “come towards the light”. Again, it was just a comfortable atmosphere where we were all trying to stay calm and use laughter to break up the seriousness and exhaustion of how long I had been pushing. Fortunately, this particular nurse from the operating staff stayed the rest of the time, and ended up being a great help to me, and a good source of distraction with her very calming demeanor.

About 2 full hours of pushing, I was beyond hot, exhausted, and I started actually started apologizing to Joey and the nurses! But Joey’s reply was reassuring and encouraging, soft spoken and loving, telling me I was doing great, and our son would be here soon. Looking back, it makes me chuckle now to think that I apologized, but at the time I felt like I wasn’t doing my “job” well enough and that’s why our baby still hadn’t joined us.

One of the nurses had told me that once the doctor started getting “dressed” that it was close. First, he put on his shoe covers, and I noticed right away, and honestly, that spurred me on to keep going. Then, I saw his hat go on, so I kept pushing. Then he was fully dressed, and I knew, after over two hours of pushing, my sweet boy was about to arrive. My mom was furiously texting my sisters, letting them know it was close, Joey was grinning from ear to ear, and coaching his little heart out with absolute excitement in his voice, our doctor was exclaiming “Push Cynthia!”, and those amazing nurses just kept counting to five J

Then finally, after nearly 2.5 hours of pushing, I saw my sweet baby boy miraculously arrive into this world. And all was perfect.

Our little Benjamin Harper Colson had arrived at 10:15pm, 8 pounds and 20 ¼ inches long, with a head full of dark hair and a tender cry that stopped the instant I held him.

What a magnificent Mother’s Day gift. I hope I can always remember each smell, moment, sound, and emotion from those hours, and that one most incredible instant that ultimately gave us Benjamin’s Birth Story.

Capturing the Moments

Today has been one of those days where my little girl seemed to wake up on the “wrong side” of her toddler bed. She started the morning very needy and whiny, it took us much longer to get out of the house and start our day because she wasn’t being exactly cooperative, and even once we got where we were going, she just seemed to be having a difficult day.

Honestly, I dealt with it for a while, but finally the crying and begging just made me agitated to the point that I just kind of tuned her out.

We got home, and I changed her clothes for nap time, and she then proceeded to, when I turned my back for two seconds, go into the bathroom and climb right into the bathtub, wet with water from her bath the night before. There she sat, fully clothed, playing with her bath toys. I quickly got her out, changed her yet again so she would be in dry clothes, and then finally put her in bed.

But, as I sit her while she naps, I started reflecting on the morning, and find the recent moments of our day tugging at my heartstrings.

It seems that with each passing day, my little girl is growing into a big girl. And I know there will be moments where she will not beg for goldfish every two seconds, cry over her shoes, beg for mommy to hold her, or get into the tub fully clothed.

Although I might not consider this day “ideal”, I hope that I have relished even those not so stellar moments and allowed them to soak in, so that 2, 4, or 10 years from now, I can remember those days when she was my baby girl, and look back on them fondly, with a smile, and just laugh. I hope that I have taken time, amidst telling her "no" or correcting her behavior, to etch in my mind and on my heart not just the seemingly “perfect” days, but even days like today.

I remember when she was an infant, I would smell her and think “memorize this” or I would look at myself in the mirror while I was holding her and think “memorize this – soak it in.” Even now, as she says her prayers, crawls in her big girl bed, sits on my lap to read a story, or sings a song, I find myself wanting to capture each memory not just on a camera, but on my heart, in my mind.

I can’t make time stand still – my child was created by God for a unique purpose – so she must continue to grow into who He made her to be. But, I hope that in all my moments with her, not just her angelic ones, that I take time to remember that her growth is a process, and even when it includes getting in the bathtub fully clothed, I want to not get so caught up in the exhaustion and frustration of being “mommy” that I can’t take time to capture and memorize even those moments, knowing they will be gone as quickly as they arrived.