Learning Spiritual Truths

Stirling is thinking. He is learning spiritual truths and meditating on them. Meditating as only a 4 year old can.

I talked with John, our son-in-law, last night. He told me that Stirling recently told him that he doesn't want Jesus in his heart because it would hurt to have him in there (pointing to his chest). What a wonderful opportunity John had to again explain the Gospel story to a 4 year old!

Stirling asked John at another time if animals go to heaven. My parents live out in the country and have recently lost 4 cats to foxes (there is a plethora of foxes the past couple of years, bold and beautiful little animals, but deadly on cats, rabbits and other little forest creatures). Stirling's goldfish also died not long ago, so he is learning about death through the animal kingdom. Stirling asked John if animals go to heaven. John's reply? "I don't know. Let's ask Grandpa Mel next time we talk." So, I asked Grandpa Mel and sent the answer on. ("I don't know for sure, but I believe they do." The thinking behind that answer deserves a post all it's own, this is not a theological debate post right now. :) :) )

We sent two Christmas presents for Stirling this year. The first was a set of DVD's that teach children character development through Bible stories. Having never seen them and not knowing if they were any good or not, I really prayed about them before I ordered them. Then I asked Kara to check them out once they arrived to see if they were any good. She said they watched the one DVD that included the Nativity story and that it is a year or two too old for Stirling right now. I was disappointed, but decided to go searching for something in addition. Stirling did watch it, at least partly, however.

He has plenty of toys. Kara works at a Target Superstore so she is able to get plenty of clothes for him when they come on sale. He also has tons of DVD's and CD's. But I was fairly certain he did not have the same CD's that our kids had on records when they were his age. I finally found the Agapeland website and ordered the whole set for him.

Psalty, The Music Machine, Bullfrogs and Butterflies, and a bunch more. I think there were 11 CD's in the set. Kara said she is going to space them out and only give him one now, and then one next month, etc.

I know these are not Reformed in theology, but our kids listened to them, memorized the 10 Commandments and the Fruit of the Spirit and more by listening to them put to music. I still remember the 10 Commandments myself through that one album!! I can sing the song rhyme and then remember the Bible verse that goes with it (Number one God should be first in your life, Number two's the idol rule - those graven images aren't nice! and so forth and so on). If someone would make the shorter catechism for kids that interesting and fun, I might be able to memorize it, too :). ha ha! Of course, this is not the main way to learn and understand Biblical truths, but it can be an additional learning tool that reinforces what a child is being taught in church and within the family. My prayer is that Stirling will listen and learn and then remember when he is an adult, these CD's being just one little stone in the spiritual foundation that is being built in his life.

How I wish I could be at home tomorrow! I am really missing them all right now. I always do this time of year. John won't be home until around 10:30 their time tomorrow morning, which means that if I am on the computer and instant messaging around 8 pm our time, we can watch them open gifts for awhile and share in their Christmas. So, that is our plan right now - we will be home by 8 (we are having a Christmas lunch tomorrow with our team and several Americans who are here.)

John tells me Peter, our son, will be there, too and they will get him in the webcam view if he will agree. :) I doubt that our son Andrew will be cooperative, but who knows, maybe he will agree as well - I have to practically trick him to get a photo of him at any time, he hates to have his photo taken.

So, I have my computer back and I am in communication again with my family and it is good. :)

PS - the repair place said the computer was packed full of dust and to never let it get that way again. Better than spilt coffee... I'm not sure when it got full of dust, however. It was getting hot even before we left the States the beginning of March and just got hotter over the course of the summer/fall. Makes me wonder about how it was made, but also how much woodsmoke and ash there was in that dust (from my parents fireplace/wood burner). It is running cool now, it was running hot in Feb - so it seems logical that it had a lot of dust in it before it ever left America - maybe before it ever left the manufacturer!!