Weakness

"...And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for us according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27

It really is good news. These verses are ministering to me this fall. I am so different from what I should be, so far from what I ought to be. Each new responsibility reveals a new area of sin in my life. I am so much worse than I thought. It is embarrassing to admit that I knew I was a sinner. I just didn't really understand that I was totally depraved.

Nothing like having children to reveal your own selfishness and utter inability to handle anything like a Christian.

It is late at night and for some reason I am especially prone to despair over my shortcomings and failures at this hour. Probably because it is the first time all day that I have had to think of anything beyond just surviving and trying to get even half of the things done that need doing....let alone doing them NICELY!

I remember how impacted I was the first time I read the book "If" by Amy Carmichael.

One section in particular:

"If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water however suddenly jolted."

There have been alot of jolts in the past several years (days) and I often spill bitter water. I wish that I didn't.

I am grateful for a God who helps me in my weakness. I am grateful that His Spirit intercedes for me according to the will of God. That even though I don't know what to say or what to ask for He talks to God for me and says "This is what Kristi is trying to say, this is what she means." I am grateful that I can cry out to God and that He intercedes coherently for me.

Busy

After a slow moving summer the fall has moved along at a fast pace. Since the end of August we have spent 3 or 4 nights a week either at football practice or watching a game. Every season is different and this was a good season of learning and growing and responding. We were proud of Alec and the way that he played, the way that he practiced, the way that he listened, the way that he responded to hard things.

It is always a bump to move up to another league and start at the bottom. 3rd graders rule, 2nd graders don't. Alec was one of the only players who could reliably catch the football in the game, for the most part his league does running plays.

From Fall 2010

From Fall 2010

His coach this year took the time after the last game to hand out awards and verbally praise each player for good character and right responses. I think it meant alot to all the boys (and it reminded me of the quote from Charlotte's Web: "It is very satisfying to receive an award in front of alot of people".)

From Fall 2010

September was full of big events that we haven't even mentioned. The kids were apart of three races - Jan and Alec ran the mile race for Crisis Pregnancy Center and did GREAT! They both got to participate in the Akron Kids Triathlon were they swam 100 meters, biked 3.5 miles and then ran 1/2 mile. It was an exciting day and they did very well.

From September 2010

From September 2010

That picture is the only one I have on this computer of the Triathlon....Anne was helping me take pictures.

And then all the kids got to participate in the Kids Run for the Akron Marathon. Just a 1K but special for Anne and Pati since they can run it too. They both ran the whole way without stopping. I found out later that Pati did it because I told her that if she didn't run the whole way she wouldn't get to have the prize at the end. I meant that I wasn't going to carry her, but she took what I said literally.

From September 2010

From September 2010

Anne was behind the big kids and ran ahead of me and Pati so she ran to the finish line by herself and right into a huge crowd of people. We couldn't find her anywhere. After some anxious minutes we found her. She didn't consider herself lost, had navigated her way through the crowd over to the building where you picked up your prizes and then back out into the crowd where we found her. At least SHE wasn't scared!

But the real accomplishment was David finishing his run in 3 hours and 6 minutes. Quite a feat for someone who works so much that he has to train by running to work at 4:00 in the morning and then runs home after working for more than 30 hours. Doing long runs whenever he could steal the time on a rare day off. We are all pretty proud of him.

From September 2010

From September 2010

Grandma Copper came out to visit and help out. She stayed with the kids for several days while David and I enjoyed some time away at a Surgery Conference in DC. They had fun and we had fun. It was a good break!

From Washington DC 2010

Books

In this picture is one beginning reader and one that is rarely without a book. I got excited while looking through a booklist for third graders today. Most of the books for school I simply get from the library. That is one incredibly wonderful thing about living here - the library is "probably the best that I know of". We go at least once a week and pick out way too many and fill up the corners of time with stories and facts (If you are Alec). But this year I find myself itching to buy books. I used to be a book collector. I thought that I was over it: I haven't had much time to read, we have lived places without much storage and we don't have bookcases for the books that we DO have. But tonight I was looking at this reading list and really feeling the urge to buy books for us to enjoy and keep. I am resisting the temptation. It just isn't necessary when there is a great library down the street.

There are a few books on the list that will be challenging reading and I really do think that those would be worth buying. David's sister Robyn bought Jan a pretty copy of "The Secret Garden" when she was a baby. There is something about a beautiful book that makes you want to read it, even if it is a little hard to get into at first. We are finally reading that book together (it will be performed as a play in town this fall and we get to go) and the kids are fascinated. Really fun.

My Dad bought me a pretty old book for Christmas when I was 5. It was called "The Lost Cricket". It was a collection of old fashioned short stories, mostly with a moral to them. He read them to us at bedtime and noted in pencil at the end of chapters the date we read them together. I love that book, still have it and have read some of it to my kids.

One year my brother Nate paid for the "Book A Month" club for me. I received a leather bound classic every month for 12 months. I am sure it was expensive - but they are so pretty. I never would have really WANTED to read "The Three Musketeers" if it hadn't just been so beautiful!

Jan is interested in storyline - she likes to read and then come to the kitchen or wherever and give me a blow by blow of what is going on in whatever she is reading. I am always surprised by how much she remembers out of books that she has read several months or even a year ago.

Alec is interested in facts and humor. If it is humorous he will read it, enjoy it, repeat it. I can't wait until he can read Patrick MacManus, it will be fun. He really is not able to read the books containing facts about sports and science easily yet and this frustrates him. We will work on it this year.

Anne just wants to read. I feel badly about this because I have no doubt that she would be reading well if I had given more time to it last year. She surprised me by sounding things out on her own and starting to read short words without help. This year I hope to help her out more.

Pati is different. She likes to be read to, but only if it is a one on one activity. If it is a group activity she will take a book, go to another room and "read" it, aloud, to herself. Sometimes this is so entertaining we will stop what we are doing and go and listen to her.

End of Summer

We are gearing up for school but it is not quite here. Looking forward to it but enjoying the last days of summer. The lake swimming is over, it closed last week. We were there alot and Pati can dog paddle and jump off diving boards now and I almost don't worry about her.

David has been working more than even he is used to. I have begun to count down the months...no more July's in residency. We are almost to the end of the last August in residency. We all feel really proud of him and are looking forward to the possibility sometime next spring/summer of getting to see him more than an hour or two a week.

Alec turned 7 in July and Anne turned 5 in August.
Pati is already deciding what she wants for breakfast on her birthday:
"When IS my birthday Mom?"

Everyday there are things to learn and to work on. Some everyday lessons for the kids and I are summed up:

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and truth."
"Be ye kind one to another, tenderearted, forgiving each other."
"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them."

Every day I am humbled by the fact that I am right there with them, dealing with daily frustrations and irritating people and situations and disappointing circumstances and my natural responses are BAD! So we are working on acting like we follow Jesus and asking forgiveness and having to forgive and treating other people like they are more important than we are. And we aren't very good at it.

The last few weeks in church we have been hearing preaching from Romans 8. We like it that "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" That good news is almost too good to be true.