Madison is off ice cream for twenty-one days. And sweets. This is a pretty big sacrifice for her, but probably a big sacrifice for Daddy too. The important thing is spending more time with prayer and the Bible, which has been an interesting bit with this new Bible we've been reading together each night. We're diving into more stories than before, with events that she's actually never heard before. With each thing of course is a lot more to say - for example, tonight's reading was about Jacob and Essau. With that came a bit of fun as Mommy and Daddy talked about Jacob's deception of Isaac, wearing fur and so forth in order to get the blessing. And with that comes a brief history lesson along with a discussion of who was unwise and who was probably a bit more crafty than they should have been. What goes around comes around, Jacob. But we haven't gotten to that part yet. Still, that's the great thing about this new Bible - it is still appropriate for Madison and her age, and she's still insisting on hearing Daddy read it each night. This is simply wonderful. But beyond that, there are new things to talk about that she's not heard before, and new things to learn each day.
Tonight, Daddy had a great service for KidPak, as we talked about fasting and what it means. Again, there is the sacrifice of not eating this or that. But with a pretty fun illustration, we showed how each of us has so much going on, our hands filled, carrying the different things we do around. Television, movies, internet, books, games and more - we had a person slowly getting passed all of these items until they physically couldn't hold any more. And then it was time to hold a Bible - the volunteer could not make room for the Bible, because they are holding on to these other objects. And that's the point of fasting: dropping some of that other stuff in order to spend more time on what is important. It was a pretty funny - but pretty clear - illustration.
We had tennis today, although Daddy hasn't had a chance to go this year. That of course is only like three weeks right now. But she's doing well again, and enjoying it. Soon, it will be time to move on to a more advanced class, but she's still enjoying this one very much. The weather is cold and rainy outside, and yet it's nice inside where she's playing on the basketball court. Our courts at the neighborhood have been pretty empty lately, mainly because of the winter season - it's just too cold right now. But they'll pick up with activity soon enough, and we'll be down there with all the other tennis players. Our friends from work are wanting to join us too, which will be fun for a bit.
And now, a word about brooms. This broom pictured above is from China - it is like the ones we saw numerous times while over there. That was the first time Mommy or Daddy had seen brooms like this before. Daddy got one of these for Mommy for Christmas - it is currently in the kitchen. There is a certain charm to this broom, as it is not comprised of uniform length bits of straw that pack together neatly to create an unstoppable sweeping machine. No, this is essentially a bunch of twigs tied together at one point, and you get the sense that this was pretty much how brooms were made for hundreds of years. Brooms go back a ways, even recorded in the Bible. A quick scan of the Bible brings up a few references to sweeping, including this one famous scripture:
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the house? Won’t she search carefully until she finds the coin?" Luke 15:8 NIrV
Perhaps this woman used a broom like the one you see above. The one we have in the kitchen was purchased at a market down in Atlanta, a place filled with other Asian items, and a place that we like to visit from time to time. It makes Daddy feel like he's back in China again, really. The sights and smells and commotion all add up to a wonderful portal to another continent. It was a special trip down for such a small item - it cost less than $5.00. And yet if they knew the sentimental value behind this, they'd have made more money off of me. It wasn't necessarily an item that we need to have, but it was a nice little reminder of a very special trip which is steadily getting farther and farther away. We'll probably hang it up somewhere in the house, at which point I'll post a picture. We'll keep it there as a souvenir of sorts, an object that triggers happy memories that won't be swept away.
Tonight, Daddy had a great service for KidPak, as we talked about fasting and what it means. Again, there is the sacrifice of not eating this or that. But with a pretty fun illustration, we showed how each of us has so much going on, our hands filled, carrying the different things we do around. Television, movies, internet, books, games and more - we had a person slowly getting passed all of these items until they physically couldn't hold any more. And then it was time to hold a Bible - the volunteer could not make room for the Bible, because they are holding on to these other objects. And that's the point of fasting: dropping some of that other stuff in order to spend more time on what is important. It was a pretty funny - but pretty clear - illustration.
We had tennis today, although Daddy hasn't had a chance to go this year. That of course is only like three weeks right now. But she's doing well again, and enjoying it. Soon, it will be time to move on to a more advanced class, but she's still enjoying this one very much. The weather is cold and rainy outside, and yet it's nice inside where she's playing on the basketball court. Our courts at the neighborhood have been pretty empty lately, mainly because of the winter season - it's just too cold right now. But they'll pick up with activity soon enough, and we'll be down there with all the other tennis players. Our friends from work are wanting to join us too, which will be fun for a bit.
And now, a word about brooms. This broom pictured above is from China - it is like the ones we saw numerous times while over there. That was the first time Mommy or Daddy had seen brooms like this before. Daddy got one of these for Mommy for Christmas - it is currently in the kitchen. There is a certain charm to this broom, as it is not comprised of uniform length bits of straw that pack together neatly to create an unstoppable sweeping machine. No, this is essentially a bunch of twigs tied together at one point, and you get the sense that this was pretty much how brooms were made for hundreds of years. Brooms go back a ways, even recorded in the Bible. A quick scan of the Bible brings up a few references to sweeping, including this one famous scripture:
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the house? Won’t she search carefully until she finds the coin?" Luke 15:8 NIrV
Perhaps this woman used a broom like the one you see above. The one we have in the kitchen was purchased at a market down in Atlanta, a place filled with other Asian items, and a place that we like to visit from time to time. It makes Daddy feel like he's back in China again, really. The sights and smells and commotion all add up to a wonderful portal to another continent. It was a special trip down for such a small item - it cost less than $5.00. And yet if they knew the sentimental value behind this, they'd have made more money off of me. It wasn't necessarily an item that we need to have, but it was a nice little reminder of a very special trip which is steadily getting farther and farther away. We'll probably hang it up somewhere in the house, at which point I'll post a picture. We'll keep it there as a souvenir of sorts, an object that triggers happy memories that won't be swept away.
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