the new earth

There is a commercial for Travelers Insurance that Hudson really likes- probably because of all the animals. He'll stare at the image and make all the animal noises and signs as each new creature comes on the screen. It's pretty funny. You can watch it below:



When it came on the other day I actually stopped what I was doing to watch it. The reason it caught my attention more this time was because I'd just finished studying Isaiah 11. If you are unfamiliar with the passage, then you can find it here. I was specifically thinking about verses six through nine, talking about how predators and prey will lie down with one another. So after watching the commercial, I asked Kyle if he thought that the new earth would be like that. It's not that I believe that animals will be giving one another rides or splashing water at one another. I just think it's pretty cool that not just men but animals will be at peace with one another. That's an amazing thought.

When we visited the zoo a couple of weeks ago one of the zoo keepers was standing outside the cage/pen for the jaguar. The jaguar was pacing the perimeter of his area as if standing guard. I asked the zoo keeper if he still has the urge to pounce or attack prey even though he's fed on a regular basis. The zoo keeper told me that yes, the jaguar still has those instincts- they will never go away. And now, as I sit here and think about Isaiah's prophecy, I'm reminded that one day those instincts will go away. God created that jaguar to live in harmony with all animals, but sin destroyed that for the jaguar too. Sin didn't just mess up the lives of men, but the rest of creation as well. All of creation is eagerly awaiting to be redeemed, as seen in Scripture. That's pretty amazing.

I really look forward to the new earth. Not just because there will be no more sin or peace among men and creation, but because all of us who are in Christ will be doing what we were created to do. We'll be glorifying God and giving Him the praise He deserves. That's such an awesome thought- to be completely fulfilled, to not struggle against my flesh, to sing praise to my Creator without being hindered by anything. What a glorious day!!

marriage

Kyle and I have been married for about seven and a half years. When he proposed he used a quote from Martin Luther's proposal to his own wife to propose to me. It's actually taken from Acts 3 when Peter and John were walking into the temple. A lame beggar asked them for money, but Peter had no money to offer. Instead, he offered the beggar something that would last forever- Jesus Christ. When Kyle proposed to me he told me that he didn't have riches or gold, but he has a rich God. And we get to serve that God together every day.

Kyle recently completed some pre-marital counseling with a couple. They talked about the creation of woman, the helpmate of the man. She was put there to help the man bring glory to God. That's what Kyle and I are supposed to do in our marriage- help each other bring glory to God. The verse that is inscribed on our wedding rings is Psalm 34:3, "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together."

I'm so thankful for this partner in ministry. I'm so thankful that I get to go through life glorifying God with him. We get to make disciples together- our children. We get to pray together, worship together, and read God's Word together.

Kyle, thanks for letting me be the one that gets to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

a weekend in graham, texas

We were able to go visit our friends Ryan and Kelli Bishop this weekend in Graham, Texas. Ryan will be serving as Senior Pastor at Graham Bible Church, and Kyle was able to participate in Ryan's installation service as an elder. It was also the weekend of their son's first birthday party. Caleb, Ryan and Kelli's precious little boy, met the Walker family for the first time. I think he thought we were awesome. Just kidding. I don't know what he thought about us. But I know that we loved him!

We forgot to take pictures until right before we were leaving. Oops! But here are a few to share.


Caleb loves balls, so he had a ball pit at his party. I think it was a hit!


I really like this pic.


The precious Bishop family.


Our happy boy playing in the grass.


Future best friends!


Goodbye hug.

We had a great time with you all, Ryan and Kelli! Our prayers are with you as you begin your new journey!

prayers with a toddler

We pray with Hudson every night as part of our bedtime ritual. We read a book, pray as a family, give goodnight hugs and kisses, then sing and rock to sleep. These are precious little moments we share together. Each night when we ask Hudson who he would like to pray for he responds with the name of a family member, an animal, or silence. Tonight he wanted to pray for his friend Emma, his Papaw, a lion, a rhino, a rabbit, and a monkey. It's so fun to pray with him about the things that fill his little heart with joy. I hope that one day his heart will be filled with joy when he thinks about Jesus.

I realize that this little boy probably doesn't really understand what praying for someone (or some animal) means. I do know, however, that this little boy wants to talk about what he loves. And what a great way to teach him about prayer- to teach him to talk to God about the things he loves. I look forward to how our prayers will change as he begins to speak more. I look forward to hearing him tell Jesus that he loves Him. I look forward to the day that Hudson will know this Savior of ours intimately. And as we pray for him each night, I see my prayer life changing too. I find myself praying about even the little things that happen during the day because I know that they matter to my Jesus. I find myself praying that I will love my Savior more so that my son will see His love reflected in me. I also find myself realizing how little I know about raising a child. But we have an excellent example of a parent in our Heavenly Father. I just need to be more like Him.

if you give a toddler a popsicle

I'm tired and I want to go to bed. But I want to wait on Kyle, and he's still working. I'm killing time by blogging. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors that I may make in my sleepy state. I'm normally such a stickler, but I'm just too tired to care about it right now.

So here are just a couple of pics from Hudson eating a popsicle last night.



My, what good posture you have!



Love this one!



And there are my two boys, having a grand time together.

I love my family. We're beginning to pray for our brother(s) and/or sister(s) that will join our family one day. Who knows when it will be. But God hears our prayers. He knows our hearts. I'm so glad He does.

a sense of wonder

We took Hudson to the zoo today. We have season passes to the Fort Worth Zoo, and today was the first day in two months that we've actually wanted to go. It's just been too hot- but today was wonderful. The older Hudson gets, the more I enjoy going with him. Kyle and I have always loved the zoo, but seeing it through the eyes of our son is even more fun. Here are just a few pictures of his response to seeing things...



Checking out the rhinos and the giraffes.



Looking at the birds.



Don't know what he was looking at here. It was during the train ride.



Observing (or trying to observe) the turkeys and deer.

Don't you love seeing things through the eyes of a child? It gives you such a different perspective. Sometimes it's like seeing things for the first time all over again. I feel like reading God's Word can be like this. I really desire to see His words with fresh eyes every time, but it just doesn't happen that way.

Kyle and I are beginning the Radical Experiment. The first two parts of the experiment are to pray for the world and to read through God's Word in its entirety. Those seem like such small steps, but I know that they are huge. I know that I don't always pray with a sense of expectancy- like God's really going to do something great through my prayers. So as we pray for the world, I'm expecting that God's going to show Kyle and me where He wants us to go on a mission trip. I'm expecting that God is going to give us a heart for the unreached and undesirable. I'm expecting that God is going to show us where to adopt our next child. I'm also going to pray that I'll see the Scripture with fresh eyes. Can you imagine reading the story about Jesus feeding the 5,000 for the first time? I told this story to my students at church a couple of weeks ago. They had never heard that story, and their reactions were awesome. I know that God is going to do some amazing things in our lives over the next year. I know that there will be battles and challenges. But I also know that there is joy in the journey, and my Jesus is worth more than any battle wound I will ever encounter. I can't wait to experience this. I can't wait to meet Jesus all over again.

couponing for the glory of God

I'm not a couponer. Believe me, I've tried. I look on those websites of people who faithfully coupon and save a ton of money. I would love to be able to cut my grocery bills in half the way that they do, but I just don't know how.

But look what's on my kitchen table this morning...


Coupons. I'm trying again. Kyle and I have stripped down our budget to try and save money for mission trips and adoption. One of the areas where I'd like to cut back is groceries. I don't buy name brands. I only buy what we need. So the only other possible way for me to save money is to coupon. Kyle knows the struggle I've had with trying to learn how to coupon. I told him last night that this time will be different. I'm going to pray while I coupon that somehow God will be glorified through our family's use of coupons. I have a budget friendly cookbook that Kyle got me for my birthday. It talks about how to organize and use coupons effectively. We'll see how things go. I think the only way that this will work is by God's intervention on my behalf. In our weakness He is made strong- must apply to coupons, too, right?