Dad Files: Months 8 to 10 Clapping, Roly Poly, Babbling, Catch and Release Games

Baby will learn to exert his will in accepting or refusing food into the mouth when feeding with a spoon. This may be due to texture, taste, boredom, distraction, or he's just full. If baby sneezes while a spoonful is near his mouth, you may find yourself sprayed with lots of green stuff especially if the spoon includes vegetables. Baby food choices can be interesting with combinations of kale/chickpeas/bananas, pear/peas/spinach among others. I don't know that I'd eat these combinations especially as the first meal of the day but baby does pretty well and the fiber helps keep things moving regularly to the diaper.

Bibs are highly recommended and will result in greater laundry duties if not utilized. Personally, I enjoy the superhero bibs. A basket of baby's laundry can be deceptive in the size to time ratio required for laundry prep. Though small in size, almost all garments require attention with spraying dirty spots in advance of washing.

Baby's first two teeth came in on Christmas so he got the same wish as the two front teeth from the song. While teething can be uncomfortable for a few days, ear infections are pretty rough too with goop oozing out and baby not feeling good. It can appear that a candle factory has set up shop with the quantity of ear wax produced. Several trips to urgent care may be required if these occur on weekends or after the doctor's office closes.  

Lots of baby clapping "Yay baby" will occur at a variety of times. Babbling sounds include ah di di, ma ma ma, da da, ba ba ba, ah wa wa. This is in addition to laughing and loud velociraptor screams.

Fine motor skills will improve dramatically with baby grabbing everything within reach, playing with them 10 to 15 seconds then throwing them on the ground. This catch and release game should be monitored closely if in public so an errant ball doesn't roll under another restaurant guest's table or church attendee's pew across the aisle. Learning discreet ways of retrieving said objects will serve you well. A pro tip is to attach the toys using a clip to baby's clothing so they don't travel far and your retrieval work is reduced.

Baby will occasionally dance by popping his chest and moving up and down. 

Ambulatory activities include turning into a roly poly as he rolls back and forth across the room as well as belly crawling and trying to figure out reciprocal crawling. Baby will gain strength and the ability to stand up with assistance. As he learns to sit on his own, watch out if he flings himself backward. Positioning a pillow or soft surface behind him is helpful if you're not immediately beside him. 

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files: Months 6 and 7 Solid Food, Sickness, Hand Control, and Holiday Travel

Tis the season...for RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus). As mentioned in a previous dad files edition, daycare is a great delivery mechanism for spreading sickness among children and their parents. RSV can be a serious illness in children and thankfully we got through it though it was rough for baby and me for about 10 days and we took a couple trips to urgent care between the two of us. Caring for a sick baby with a 102 degree fever yourself is not fun but you can get some good snuggles from baby if you're aware enough to enjoy them. Incidentally, sometimes healthcare providers are very helpful and recommend tools like the NozeBot which is fantastic at removing snot from the nasal passage. Other times, they may diagnose your child with a crack in his hiney.

Baby has developed much greater dexterity and control of his hands which can result in activities such as grabbing you by the throat while burping him implying "GIVE ME MORE MILK!," apprehending the hand sanitizer container while you're changing his diaper, and undoing his own diaper after you've put a new one on and are in the midst of re-clothing him. You will also want to be conscious of drawstrings on a hoodie or jacket because baby may not let go even when you put him down or hand him off and give you a good yank. The consumption of reading material during story time takes on new meaning as baby grabs pages, puts them in his mouth and chews on them. So far he's not "digested" any books yet.

As he moves beyond only consuming milk, the introduction of solid foods also introduces a change in the output to diaper. Solid food = solid poo. This can sometimes work in your favor with a less runny diaper but can also be very messy and smelly. During the past month's diaper changes I've been working on a song with the lyrics "got a dirty diaper if you know what I mean, got a dirty diaper and it needs to be clean." As baby masters sounds like blowing raspberries, he may do this with increasing frequency. Pray that it's not during church. During diaper changes, blowing raspberries are his way of mocking you...PPPPHTHHHTTT....heh heh heh you have to change another diaper ....PPPHHTTTHTHTT...heh heh heh I've got something else coming out right now.

Learning to feed baby with a spoon can be an adventure as he figures out how to maneuver his tongue. Sometimes he'll be very interested and get excited, kicking his legs and pounding his hands for more as he tries tasty foods. Other times he'll be totally uninterested and you'll resort to any manner of method to get food into him like pretending the spoon is an airplane, acting like you're eating the food yourself, making silly noises, or opening and closing your mouth repeatedly an inch from his face. Getting through a 2 ounce container of food can seem as daunting as trying to fill up a bathtub a spoonful at a time.

This high chair has fed 3 generations of children

I've heard it said that feeding a baby can be like trying to put toothpaste back into a toothpaste tube and it's an apt analogy. Bibs are highly recommended and will save you laundering time later on. Super hero bibs add an element of fun to meal time though baby may decide he wants to play with, pull off, or try to eat the bib. You will develop strategies like simply putting food on the bib or his hands since he's sticking them in his mouth anyway rather than letting you get a spoon in.

With holiday travel to visit family and friends, it behooves you to keep baby on schedule as close as possible. He can get over stimulated being passed from person to person coupled with long car rides and interrupted or no naps. After one event, baby was so tired that he fell deep asleep on the back seat of the car while I was changing him. All of these factors together can result in a very grumpy baby by the time the day is over. Remember, you're the parent and you get to choose what's best for baby.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files 5 Month Insights: Daycare, Carseats, Overnight Solo Parenting

Handing over your most precious person in the whole world for the first time to essentially a stranger at daycare and hoping they take care of him is challenging emotionally. Over time, you and baby will get to know the daycare workers and develop a relationship with them as they partner with you in his development. 

While you'd love for baby to never get sick, entering the halls of this institute of care is also germ central and will almost definitely result in a cough and cold within a few days of starting. There's nothing quite like seeing a booger encrusted classmate crawl towards your baby and reach out a slobber and snot filled hand to welcome him to the cold crew. Baby will subsequently have essentially a continuous cold and cough for the next few months. 

Listening to your baby coughing and sneezing while you can't do anything about it is hard. Boogie Wipes will become your new friend in the next weeks and months. You too may share in the new colds passed along from baby as he coughs or sneezes in your face. On the bright side, baby should have a rock solid immune system by the time he starts kindergarten.

As you take on the responsibility of drop off and pick up from daycare, time should be allotted to get baby dressed, bottles prepped and labeled, extra clothing changes, and a well stocked diaper bag plus some extra margin as baby requires. Don't be late for pick up; they're strict about that cutoff time and charge by the minute if you're late. 

If you're heading to the office following drop off, you'll want to be especially careful to dodge any spit up that may occur between home and hand off and it wouldn't hurt to keep a change of clothes in the car just in case. This can easily occur on the pick up side as well especially if they've fed baby immediately prior to pick up. Also possible is a blow out that you realize when you first smell then feel the sticky wetness on your own clothing as the transmission from baby to you occurs while walking to the car.

Sometimes you may split drop off and pickup responsibilities with your spouse. If you only have one car seat, you'll want to coordinate in advance to not get caught without the seat. It's a surprise if your wife leaves before you with the car seat but you are dropping baby off at daycare. Hope that you can get some work done at home because you're not going anywhere till she returns to trade off the car seat. Alternatively, if you leave with car seat but not baby and she is in charge of baby, you may get a call shortly into the work day resulting in a return home to trade off car seat. 

The first multi night solo parenting experience will make you appreciate single parents and the challenges they go through even more with the weight of all responsibilities and care taking falling fully on you. You will be very thankful when your wife returns home.

Baby will increasingly smile, laugh, babble, and explore introductory motions towards crawling as he gets stronger with lots of tummy time sessions. You can have fun baby sound conversations with him even if neither of you use a distinguishable language. Laughing with him is also a joyful experience for all involved. 

He will begin watching you from across the room and pay close attention to things of interest like the milk bottle or favorite toys. You may attempt feeding baby rice cereal or other foods like sweet potatoes. It's an experience as baby learns about spoons and how to get food down the hatch rather than spiting it out on clothing and generally all over his face.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files 4 month Insights: Slobber, New Sounds, and Paternity Leave

In addition to baby advocating loudly for more milk, around nap time, or in conjunction with a diaper change, he will begin to make new sounds. One of these includes blowing raspberries (or flatulent sounds proceeding from the mouth for those unfamiliar). Bonding with dad over impolite sounds begins at this age and may continue, peaking around the age of middle school. 

Another fun sound is baby making new quacking noises similar to The Count on Sesame Street. 3 clothing changes per day ah ah ah...4 naps...ah ah ah...6 bottles of milk ah ah ah....8 diaper changes ah ah ah.

Baby will increasingly put fingers, whole hands, and pretty much anything he can reach in his mouth and baptize them with saliva. Along with copious amounts of slobber, baby will increasingly spit up both at meal time and at random intervals. This may require adjustments to slow pace of feeding, quantity, or frequency. Consequently, baby may require additional wardrobe changes throughout the day. 

Bath time is also fun as baby learns about the water and splashes around. An extra bonus is if he lets a poop slide right in the middle of bath time or alternatively contributes bubbles to the water that when popped leave behind a smelly aroma.  

With bright eyed excitement at new discoveries, joyful laughing, and kicking his legs simultaneously I've loved watching as he learns more about the world. It's a lot of fun especially when he's not yelling at you. 

Over the past 6 weeks, I had the privilege of taking paternity leave and staying home with him. It definitely gave me an increased appreciation for full time stay at home parents as well as single parents. There are lots of great parts but also lots of challenging and tiring parts. It's possible to get things done during the day but you need to be very intentional about planning out the day. With awake and sleep cycles running every 3 hours, you need to constantly be planning the next session as well as getting anything done like house work, exercise, nap, paying bills, or even a little down time. 

I totally understand how someone could go all day or even multiple days in the same clothes or without showering. On the days that were the most successful, I had a goals list for the day and priorities which could be tackled similar to a regular work day. Of course, baby can totally derail that plan with plans of his own. I think it's also a good idea for stay at home parents to purposefully connect with others outside the home since it can be exhausting and isolating fulfilling need after need day after day without adult interaction. 

All in all, I'm grateful that the company I work for introduced this benefit for dads and that I was able to invest focused time in him over the past month and a half. 

I've also been finishing up a song that I wrote for him and hope to post a version of it soon so stay tuned!

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files: 3 Month Insights: Smiles, Swaddles, Spit Up, and Types of Cries

If baby’s other parent discovers a blowout and hands baby to you for cleanup, you are fully entitled to call foul and reject the handoff. Bonus points to you if you graciously overlook this violation of courtesy and endeavor on restoring baby to cleanliness.

Sometimes there are blowouts requiring both parents in order to properly change and clean baby. These involve fluids and poop covering essentially all parts of baby and a subsequent bath is recommended. No judgment if you opt for throwing away clothing rather than endeavoring to clean it.

By now you will begin to recognize meanings of various cries whether hungry, tired, in need of a diaper change, sick, gassy, hurt, or generally disagreeable to the current situation. Volume, tone, and length all play a part with tremolo vibrato crying reserved for the especially distraught times and commonly associated with the car alarm cry. The quicker you recognize these and take action where appropriate the better for all involved.

When you get fussy baby down for a nap and simply desire the same for yourself he will likely cry out just as you cross the sleep threshold. He may more or less get a full nap in but you will need to resign yourself to a few micro sleeps.

Increased frequency of smiles, snuggles, and baby’s recognition of you are tangible dividends for the hard work so far and make all those dirty diapers, interrupted or reduced sleep, and yelling/crying sessions more tolerable and worthwhile.

Holding baby aloft and zooming around like an airplane immediately following feeding, while fun, runs the risk of a cascade of spit up flowing down and covering anything underneath. Subsequent clothing change for you will be necessary. On the positive side, baby’s expulsion may miss his clothing entirely and allow him to soldier on in current attire. Needless to say, less aerial play options are recommended until adequate digestion time has passed.

Baby’s hair will have grown a fair amount over the past three months though a bald spot may develop in the back when he shakes head from side to side while laying down. 

When switching to zip up swaddles, baby may look like a whale flapping it’s tail when kicking or exercising legs. This is also observed if carrying while in swaddle with squirming baby resembling a flip flopping fish. Hold on tight!

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew 

Dad Files: 2 Month Insights: Blowouts, Booger Picking, and Growing Strength

Baby will exhibit increasing strength. If you are doing skin to skin and have hair on your chest, you may consider shaving it or baby will rip it out by the fistful. With increasing strength, baby will also frequently break out of swaddles making you wonder whether he will pursue a career in escape artistry or strongman competitions in the future. This will heighten vigilance in proper swaddle technique particularly when desiring sleep. Baby’s head will remind you of a bobble head as he builds neck strength. Recoil in conjunction with burps may surprise you with increasing power.

When you arrive home from work, your spouse will hand him off after a day of fussiness so she can have a break. It may seem that all the baby is interested in when you get home is screaming at you especially if you’ve had a hard and stressful day at work. You will do anything possible to get him to go to sleep including beatboxing while assisting him with interpretive dance, bicep curls and triceps extensions with baby, tummy time, bouncing on knee, singing lullabies, whistling classical music, yelling back at baby (not effective), praying for relief, holding baby tightly, rocking baby, rubbing baby’s back, walking lap after lap around the house with baby, feeding, burping, changing diaper, changing diaper again, taking baby on walks outside, and anything else your sleep deprived mind comes up with.

You may sing popular songs on the radio to baby, worship songs, or even revert to your own childhood nursery singalongs. What comes out in your most desperate sleep deprived times digs deep to the core of your being.

If you keep baby with you during a church service, he may make joyful noises unto the Lord at inappropriate times. This will give you the opportunity to better acquaint yourself with the halls and parking lot of the church with baby while your spouse completes the service independently.

Doctors and nurses will poke, prod, and stick baby at checkups. You will need to take on faith that it is for baby’s long term good because short term will likely increase fussiness and screaming sessions.

A constipated baby will make you miss all those number 2 diaper changes. You will pray fervently for the bowels to resume normal function and with every passing of gas compulsively check diaper for poop. Once a juicy one finally comes to fruition, you will rejoice with songs of praise and thanksgiving.

On the other side of the spectrum, you will sometimes wonder if there is an immediate path from mouth to diaper and whether skipping the baby and pouring milk directly on the diaper would be more efficient.

The first public bathroom diaper change is an adventure. By this time you should be fairly experienced in diaper changes but the road game aspect adds a whole other dimension. If there are others in the bathroom, it can almost take on a public performance element. For my first one at Olive Garden, it was a major blowout with runny brown poo pudding covering all of baby’s lower half and exceeded the bounds of the diaper traveling half way up his back calling into question the wisdom of putting the onesie back on. He did well for most of the process with only three other patrons passing through until at the end the whaaaaaa alarm started going off and I was frantically rushing to avoid full on nuclear meltdown echoing through the bathroom chamber. I took baby back to the table with just a diaper on and with a harried look in my eye handed him off to my wife and went to get a new change of clothing from the car. Incidentally, my personal opinion is that just a diaper is a viable wardrobe choice.

Blowouts while traveling in the car will most likely be discovered as you are arriving for an event making an on time arrival shift to tardiness and a very messy cleanup in the backseat of the car. Probably in the range of a 12 wipe cleanup. You should always have a backup change of clothes for both baby and you. Woe to you if you don't take precautions.

You may never have picked someone else’s nose before. This likely will change. While snot sucking instruments can be helpful for the juicy ones, boogers on the dry side may need manual encouragement.

Keeping baby on a schedule and regular routines will benefit everyone involved. The feeding schedule in particular is similar to feeding a parking meter. You may skate by beyond the meter’s expiration but at the risk of a full throated rebuke from the pediatric parking attendant.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files: Father's Day Reflection

Having children has been a long time desire and goal and one that I didn't know if I'd ever have the opportunity to experience. I'm so thankful that God has blessed my wife and I with Joshua. On my first Father's day as a father, I have a new appreciation for the tremendous sacrifices that parents go through in order to raise children and have an increased respect for anyone who has brought up kids. Even though it can be really hard in the middle of sleep deprivation, night feedings, countless diaper changes, or when he just won't stop crying, I'm still grateful for the opportunity to be his father. 

Before he was born, I was nervous about the many new things to learn, the weight of the responsibility, and having very little experience with babies. Since he was born, I feel much better about the basic skills and have a lot more confidence in taking care of him. 

There is still much to learn but I've enjoyed the fun parts so far and am so appreciative to have my wife as a partner in the journey. I'm beginning to understand what it means to have unconditional love for a child. It only scratches the surface of God's love for us but there are many parallels between a parent and child relationship. I want him to be happy, safe, healthy, protected, provided for, well fed, rested, and to experience all the goodness that life has to offer.

As I think about his future, I pray that he will walk with and follow Jesus all the days of his life. That he will be filled with God's love and joy and show kindness to others. That he will be strong and healthy, smart and wise. That the Holy Spirit will empower him and guide him to do great things and to encourage others to pursue relationship with God. That God's angels will watch over and protect him. I pray for the girl he'll one day marry that God will watch over and protect her and give her parents wisdom in raising her. That she will love the Lord and that God will bring them together in His timing and bless their relationship. 

I don't know what the journey of fatherhood has in store but I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to be Joshua's dad, to love him and invest in his life, and pray that God will give me the strength and wisdom to do it well.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Dad Files: 1 Month Insights: Sleep Deprivation, Diaper Changes, and Goat Sounds

Baby can quickly go from calm or sleeping to DEFCON level screaming at the top of his lungs. This is common if not meeting previously negotiated feeding times with baby. He will make your ears pay dearly for tardiness.

Babies and goats can make similar sounds which may be why they’re both called kids.

You will frequently feel an insatiable desire to sleep. If friends, family, neighbors, or work colleagues are not interesting and to the point, you get a free pass for a few winks of sleep. Really it’s on them and will encourage more efficient communication.

You can get decent strength training done by lifting, holding and playing with baby who should be steadily growing and adding to weight resistance.

You will willingly allow another human to fart on you. Volume and length of flatulence is disproportionate to the size of baby. You will learn to distinguish between a dry one and a juicy one the later which requires a subsequent diaper change.

When completing diaper change and holding legs in the air to clean the backside, beware of the crack which can expel either more of what you just cleansed concurrent with diaper change or fart directly in your face. Bending down close to the danger zone is ill advised and done at your own peril.

When in public, you should always have multiple diapers on hand as well as additional clothing for both baby and you. Blowout risk is real.

Showering with the baby is an efficient way of bathing him. Having one parent hold and one bathe is helpful. When cleaning the front side, beware the water cannon which may go off at any time unannounced.

Grandparents, other family, or friends can provide a nice respite if you need a nap, eat a meal with hands unencumbered, exercise, shower, or to run an errand. Friends or family who offer to do house work or bring a meal are greatly appreciated and get extra bonus points.

Your wife will do some very selfless things. 

A happy, fed, rested baby with a fresh diaper can be sweet and a lot of fun.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew 

Dad Files: Insights After Two Weeks: Bodily Fluids, Feeding, and New Skills

Bodily fluids flow freely at all hours of the day. If you change a diaper and feel a sense of accomplishment, you likely will have the opportunity to repeat that accomplishment shortly, like inside of five minutes. Boys come installed with a water cannon, when changing his diaper note well and plan accordingly, it may very well find occasion to spray you, baby, swaddles, formerly clean clothing, walls, and anything else within a close radius.

If baby is smiling, it’s probably because he’s passing gas or otherwise refilling his diaper.

Tiny humans are capable of producing loud noises for long periods of time. Be the adult and don’t respond in kind.

Sleep deprivation can be brutal and it’s a good thing God gives kids two parents to tag team and share responsibilities. Prayer will help get you through the tough spots.

When feeding baby, don’t race to complete a bottle but pause at appropriate intervals. Your over confidence at having finished so quickly will bite you in the form of wearing half the bottle when baby spits it back up.

Burping is an essential part of feeding.

It’s possible to be peed on, pooped on, and puked on within a short time frame. Don’t assume the outfit you and baby plan to leave the house in are the ones you will actually be wearing. The amount of household laundry needs will rise exponentially.

Babies have sharp fingernails. 

The precious baby pictures that people post only tell half the story, baby will be grumpy and rage demandingly when hungry, tired, needing new diaper, while changing, putting in car seat, or for no apparent reason at all.

There are lots of skills to learn that you never knew you’d need to know. Bottle prep and feeding, diapering, swaddling, putting on and taking off tiny outfits with superfluous snaps and zippers, securing baby in car seat, skin to skin contact as a calming technique, singing lullabies, making silly sounds, and rocking baby to sleep.

When baby is calm, content, or sleeping, snuggles can be a lot of fun.

Meal trains are a great idea. 

Other parents are genuinely happy for you and remember the joys and challenges of raising their own kids.

Babies are a blessing and a gift from God. He gives wisdom for the journey.

 In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Baby Blessings

So thankful for and proud of this beautiful lady. She’s been through a lot over the past year and has sacrificially taken so many steps in this journey. We’ve prayed for many years for the opportunity to become parents and very soon will be blessed to welcome a baby boy into the world. We’re grateful that God has allowed us this enormous privilege and look forward to seeing all the amazing things in store for the future! “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” -Matthew 6:33

Tribute To My Dad

Last evening, we celebrated and honored my dad as he retires after 49 years of working as a CPA. Few people have a career that extends that long let alone at the same company. He came from a background of growing up on a farm, serving in the military, graduating with a bachelor and master’s degree in business and became a trusted advisor to many people and I’m proud of what he’s accomplished.

He’s worked diligently to provide for our family and serve clients with excellence and I recall many times sitting around the kitchen table listening to him share about preparing tax returns, complex accounting and business scenarios, investments, and a host of other financial topics. He was my first teacher in personal finance and as I’ve grown and developed in my own career, I’ve come to respect his knowledge and technical expertise even more.

Some of my iconic memories of him include crunching numbers on a roller tape calculator, reading the newspaper and books on many topics, working in the yard, taking us to church, and playing soccer and baseball with us growing up. He’s provided for, encouraged, prayed for, and served as a great resource to me throughout my life.

As he moves into a new season, I look forward to seeing what God has in store for him. He's a good man and I love him.

Future You

Photo by Dietmar Rabich

When you think of yourself in the future, what do you see? What do you want for future you? Have you ever thought, what would future you want current you to do? Current you can tackle challenges and pursue goals or let time pass by without taking any steps. Are you making wise choices that will lead to your desired outcome? Is current you compromising things that future you would regret? Every decision current you makes affects future you.

Does current you stay up late watching a movie and then future you is tired the next day? Does current you exercise consistently so that future you has good fitness?

Current you may want to eat or drink things that taste good at the moment but aren't very healthy and so future you pays the consequence. In contrast, future you is thankful to current you when you make good decisions around nutrition, feels better and has better health.

What about education? Whether reading, taking classes, talking with wise people, learning a new skill, practicing the skill or not, each of these result in a level of knowledge and ability that future you has in an area. 

Financially, is current you making choices that future you will appreciate or not? Do you have a savings and giving plan or do you spend without consideration of the future? Do you put good financial habits in place and seek accountability? Do you ask for counsel from knowledgeable people with expertise in this area or do you listen to get rich quick systems?

Of course, in thinking about future you, there will be others that you interact with along the way. Do you reach out to friends, maintain strong family ties, build relationships with colleagues, seek out opportunities to meet new people and make new friends? Does current you burn bridges or look for reconciliation? The relationships of future you will be impacted by who current you chooses to spend time with or not, who current you invests in or lets fade, who current you sets healthy boundaries with or allows others to take advantage of. 

What voices does current you listen to? Whether from news, social media, books, blogs, websites, movies, music, podcasts, people close to you, culture, celebrities, pastors, family, co-workers, neighbors, those you encounter in the marketplace, all of these will impact the worldview of future you. Are these voices  healthy and life giving, encouraging you along a path you want to take? Are there any voices that you need to turn the volume down on or remove from your life?

If current you could give advice to past you 5, 10, or 20 years ago, what would you tell yourself? What do you think future you would encourage current you to do?

Would future you appreciate if current you spent more time in prayer? Future you would be thankful for wisdom gained and intimacy formed with God through actively engaging with Him. He will guide you through life as you ask for direction and future you will be better for it.

Future you depends on current you. 

Consider who it is, where and what you want to be in the future. Work on your behalf and for your benefit. Future you will arrive where current you takes you. Let it be a path and place that future you is glad you took. 

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Christmas and Giftmas

This holiday season, I've been reflecting on the secular side of Christmas wrapped in the mythology of Santa Claus and the material parts of the holiday. Things I enjoy about the cultural celebration of Christmas include fun movies like Elf, The Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, among others. I appreciate the pretty Christmas lights and fun Christmas songs. Time with friends and family is largely positive if a bit hectic in going from event to event and navigating different relational elements. I also especially enjoy the cookies and delicious deserts. On the gift giving front, I can understand how it is fun for some though gifts are not a focus for me personally.

There's a part of me that thinks our society places heavier focus on these fun cultural aspects than the original Christmas story and God's gift to humanity. Rather than cultural elements being a fun addition to the central story of Jesus birth, they begin to shift focus and take center stage.  

A recent Christmas movie that I saw was built entirely around Santa Claus interacting with some kids in an action oriented story and appropriated and warped elements of the real Christmas story. While I don't mind fun fictional stories, to take from and remold elements of the historical account of Jesus birth into something completely different begins to border on sacrilege. As things move further along this path, Christmas becomes more and more secular to the point that for some it has no more meaning than bunnies, Halloween candy, and celebrating a made up holiday that would be better described as Giftmas. 

I don't begrudge people having fun with the holiday but would love for more focus to be placed on God sending His son into the world so that we could have relationship with Him. The fantastic Christmas Carol O Holy Night does a wonderful job of orienting us to this heart posture.

O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

This Christmas I hope that you and your loved ones get to spend time reading and reflecting on the original Christmas story and thanking the One who loves us most for His incredible gift.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Where Your Love Is

This year has been difficult for many people both from a global perspective as well as unique individual challenges. Over the past few months, this song has expressed my prayer and desire to God. 

Where His love is, is where I want to be. His love is more powerful than anything and can fill hearts, heal hurts, encourage souls, and change the world. I hope the lyrics and music can encourage you in whatever you're experiencing this year.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Where Your Love Is

Where your love is, is where I want to be
so let your love flow and cover me

When troubled times take hold
Lord won't you guard my soul
when I don't understand 
won't you take take my hand and lead me on

When all I feel is stress
Lord help my heart to rest
when there's uncertainty
be my surety and lead me on

Where your love is, is where I want to be
so let your love flow and cover me
Where your love is, is where I want to be
so let your love flow and cover me

How I love you, how I need you
here's my heart, here's my soul take all of me
How I love you, how I need you
here's my heart, here's my soul take all of me

 So holy, so mighty, so beautiful, your glory
 So holy, so mighty, so beautiful, your glory

Where your love is, is where I want to be
so let your love flow and cover me
Where your love is, is where I want to be
so let your love flow and cover me

Waiting in the Space Between

Photo by لا روسا Acacia in Ein Khadra Desert Oasis, Egypt

There can be seasons of waiting and living in the space between what's been and what's hoped for. The new professional opportunity, the relationship development, the family situation, the health condition, the personal goals hoped for. It's in these times when a disconnect can exist between the intellectual acknowledgement that God is in control and loves us and the heart experience of longing, discouragement, pain, and disappointment.

In these places, it's so important to continue to lean in to God's promises even when we can't see what's on the other side and when it will come. To trust in the Lord with all our hearts leaning not on our own understanding but allowing Him to direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 paraphrase)

A comfort when I've been waiting in the space between, is reading Psalms. There are so many great passages that worship God and acknowledge Him as creator, almighty and powerful, a rock and refuge in times of trouble. Similarly, there are passages that are brutally honest, crying out to God in times of trouble, expressing pain, and searching for what good can come of very difficult circumstances and how long they'll last.

Whatever you're going through in your season of waiting in the space between, be encouraged that God is with you, He sees you, He knows you, and He loves you.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

The Effects of Sin

Photo by Roger McLassus

Selfishness and choosing a path outside of the one God designs leads to outcomes that may be temporarily satisfying but ultimately leaves regrets, pain, and heartache. When tempted there can be a tendency to not think of the impact and repercussions one's own actions and choices can have on others.

However, the effects of sin cascade outward like concentric circles from a rock dropping in water. Not only does it affect the person but it affects everyone around them. Sin's physical and emotional consequences can affect both yourself and current or future interactions and relationships with others.

In contrast, making wise choices that lead along the path of righteousness can impact both you and your broader circles positively. By rippling joy and righteousness, those you interact with also benefit from more joy and your contributions to their life.

As you start each day and go through different scenarios along the way, pray Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." 

When you've found yourself in a place that you'd rather not be in due to sin, pray 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Serving the Lord's Supper

Photo by John Snyder

If you've never had the opportunity to serve the Lord's supper, I hope you get to in the future. And by serve, I mean you holding the cup and/or bread as people receive it vs. passing a plate. Over the past year, I've gotten to do this several times at church. As someone takes the bread, you say "the body of Christ, broken for you." Being in such close proximity to the person, face to face, when they take communion, can be a deeply spiritual moment.

I had a very real sense of Jesus having died for each person that stood in front of me. When you look into their eyes as a representative of Christ, it brings a new perspective to "For God so loved the world..." Each person that receives communion is someone that Jesus died for. Until recently, I've always been on the receiving side and didn't connect in the same way with the experience as I did while serving.

Communion can become ritualistic and lose its significance unless you focus intentionally on engaging your heart and mind. If your church is looking for volunteers to serve communion, go ahead and step up. See how God might open your heart and mind to a new perspective of the Lord's Supper.


In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Worship in Pain and Brokeness

Via Dolorosa

What is your response to pain and brokenness? Do you become angry, sad, frustrated, fearful, and/or nervous? A natural response can be to pray for God to heal the physical or emotional pain and brokenness. But what about when you continue to experience it even after praying? What then?

At the moment, I have a shoulder injury that according to the doctor will not heal on its own without surgery. I have experienced a range of thoughts and emotions over the past couple of months and began praying early on for healing. He made me and created every aspect of my body. He knows the pain and limitations I've experienced. He knows the questions and emotions I've experienced.

I am still praying for and believing God for supernatural healing but even if He chooses not to heal me that way, I will continue to worship Him through it. I will thank him for medical professionals who know how to partner with Him in healing and ask Him to give them skill in providing treatment. Medical treatment does not qualify as a second class healing.

I want God's best in however he chooses to provide healing and will continue to seek His glory and honor through this. I will not allow the devil to steal joy from me because of the situation and will defy him by continuing to worship the Lord.

Pray boldly and with confidence! May He receive more glory.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

New Bible

"A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t." -commonly attributed to Charles Spurgeon

When reflecting on the amount of time and life events spent with a Bible, it strikes me as significant when getting a new Bible. The copy I've been using for the past 8 or so years has reached the point where it's time for retirement. I don't know that I could ever throw an old one away since it's been a source of so much spiritual nourishment and is like a good friend. 

In putting the new one into service, there is a sense of anticipation of what God will teach me, the life circumstances I'll go through, who I'll pray for while reading it, and so many other spiritually significant activities that I'll encounter while reading or studying it. 

Yes, it's just a physical copy of a book but it's a book that holds the very words of God spoken through man. Words that have the power to transform life and impact eternity. 

If you've never read the Bible, or have only done so sparingly, may I challenge you to read the best seller of all time? It will change your life for the better. There are a number of reading plans available at https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/. Or if you're more of an app type of person, check out a plan in the YouVersion Bible app. You can even have the Bible app read to you as you're driving in the car, exercising, doing work around the house, or other tasks. If you become a person molded and shaped by the Word of God, you'll be glad that you did.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

God's Christmas Gift

"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him." -I John 4:9.

When I read this verse recently, I had the thought that this is an expression of Jesus as a Christmas gift. Only God could send such an incredible gift of love. There is no greater gift.

Who could think to ask for or ever expect to receive the very embodiment of love. God come to earth in the form of man to live a perfect and sinless life then die on our behalf so that we might have an eternal relationship with Him.

If you've not received the gift of Jesus before, it's freely given from God. You simply have to believe in Him, ask forgiveness for your sins, and receive the gift of eternal salvation. It's the best gift ever!


In pursuit of His best,

Andrew