A New Heart

Firstly, here's the latest scan of a project by Madison. I'm like Mr. Spock on the old Star Trek, always "scanning." Yesterday, even Madison corrected Mommy when she was about to hang this on the refrigerator first - she told Mommy that Daddy needs it first. He's got to scan it first!

For the younger children, this is picture helps emphasize that a real hero is defined by his heart within. This is illustrated by the story of Samuel finding David amongst all his other brothers, who of course all looked more like kings than he did.

We'll be hitting on this "heart" concept later in the month with the hero Iron Man, who himself had a change of heart:

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“God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you.”

Psalm 51:10 NIrV

Tony Stark is a guy with big money and an even bigger ego. It used to be much, much bigger before a tragic accident left him with a different heart – literally. His old heart, damaged and broken, had to be replaced with something altogether new.

It was a tense and scary time, but fortunately, a kind doctor had managed to save his life. Sadly, it was just before sacrificing his own, to save that of Tony Stark’s.

His life changed. His eyes were opened. His heart was new. As soon as he was able to recover, Stark determined that from this point on, he would use all of his abilities and finances to fight injustice and make a difference for others. He developed and put on an amazing suit of armor, powered by his new heart. He became the Invincible Iron Man.

Once we’ve become Christians, we too have a change of heart. Our old nature is gone, and people should tell a difference in the way we go about our day. We should look different, starting off each day by putting on the full armor of God, and taking on the

battle like Iron Man.

There should be a stark contrast between our old life and our new one. Jesus makes this possible, because he now lives in our hearts. And that’s where the real power comes from.

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Speaking of which, Mommy and Daddy watched "Iron Man 2" again tonight before bed, but we were both pretty drained of our powers: it was a full day. We got in a little painting, and a return visit to Dr. Williams, our creepy chiropractor. We call him that because we've been holding on to a sign that we found at Big Lots last year after Halloween. They had all their Halloween stuff on clearance, and we spotted this big sign that read "Creepy Chiropractor," and had some decorations about it with references to "bone crunching" and so forth. It's the sort of sign you put in front of your office, and it was so specific and cheap that we picked it up and have been holding on to it for nearly a year. Needless to say, he appreciated it - especially when it was Madison who brought it to him. The best kind of gift is the one that comes from the heart...!