Swimming

Hey Bird,

I was just thinking today about something, and it made me kind of sad. I was thinking about swimming. Not just any old kind of swimming, I was thinking about you swimming.

I see pictures that your mom and dad post on Facebook, and other pictures that your mom sends to my phone, of you swimming and having a great time. I do love the pictures, but the part that makes me sad is that so far I have only seen pictures of you swimming. I have never been with you when you were swimming. Pictures are great, but they are no substitute for being present.

Know two things. I miss you very, very much, and God is present with you at all times. My hope for you is that you will believe to the point of knowing and experiencing the truth that you have a Heavenly Father who is present with you at every moment, and who loves you perfectly at all times.

Truly believing this will shape your life like few other things will.

You're Two!!!

Alexa,

Two years ago today you were five days old. From the moment you arrived you were beautiful and brought such joy to all of us. It is amazing to me that before you were born, the world seemed complete; but, now that you are here, the world would not be complete without you.

One of the things that this tells me is that God is still creating the world!!! He is still making the world into the place that He wants it to be - and you are a big part of that world. As He helps you to live your life, and as you obey His heart as you grow up, God will be creating His world through you.

I don't know about you, but this sounds like the most exciting life possible.

Last Thought -- 'til Next Time

Alexa,

I put you and Nani on the MegaBus two days ago headed for Kansas City. You spent three days with us all by yourself. This was the first time you have done that!!!

My hope for the next year of your life, and for your whole life, is that it will be filled with "first times." I hope yours is a life of adventures and opportunities that will allow you to see and experience this incredible world that God has created.

Don't back down or shy away from the "first times" that come your way. Some may be a little scary, and some may even be boring. But jump in!!!

It may be the chance to go to a new place, try a new food, read a new book, meet a new person. Whatever it is, be watching for the chance to do something for the first time.

I trust that God will be the one (along with your mom and dad) that will be keeping an eye on the "first times" that come your way. There is a lot of evil in this world, but He (and they) will be there with you to help you see and know the difference between the good opportunities and the bad. Trust them.

And when they give you the go ahead, the green light, the thumbs up, then jump in! Experience and enjoy life to the full.

Be careful

Hey SuperGirl,

I thought of you this morning (actually I think about you all the time). I was reading in Matthew 7 and one verse stood out in my mind:
⁶"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

This verse can have a number of applications, but only one meaning. The meaning is that we must guard the valuable things in life, being careful how we put them out to the world around us. We must always be honest, genuine and authentic; however, who we trust with the the most valuable things of our lives must be guarded somewhat.

When I think of you, and the most valuable things of your life, I think about your heart and emotions, your dreams and goals, and your commitments.

So, I guess I just want to tell you to be careful about who you share the deep and secret things of your heart with, and about who you let in on your dreams. Also, go slow in making commitments, being sure that those you connect with are worthy in character of your trust and allegiance.

I know this sounds pretty negative, but I don't want to see you hurt. Your dad is pretty sharp about knowing people - who to trust and invest in - so talk to him about this stuff. He won't steer you wrong.

The Secret

Hey beautiful lady,

I miss you today more than usual. I don't really know why, but I do.

As I was reading this morning in Ezekiel I found a secret. I know, if it's in the Bible it's probably not a secret, so I will call it "The Golden Key." It is found in chapter 36 --

²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

What is the big secret, the Golden Key? It is God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit. God told Ezekiel that there was coming a day when He would put His Spirit into the hearts and minds (the souls) of people, and that would be the key to them following God.

As a believer in Jesus, the Bible tells us that we are in Him and He is in us - that we are joined together and that the Holy Spirit lives within us. His (the Spirit) desire is to influence us and lead us in our lives of pleasing and following God. That's the good news.

The more a person pays attention to the voice of the Spirit and listens for it, the more the Spirit's influence makes a difference in their life. It becomes easier and easier to follow God.

When someone begins to ignore the Spirit it is like they become deaf to His voice. It becomes easier and easier to do things that displease the heart of God and that are not good for their life.

I tell you all this so that I can ask you to do me a favor: as you grow up and live life, pay close attention to God's voice. As you do that He will lead you in a life that you will not regret.

Listen and Do

Alexa,

I was reading in the book of Ezekiel this morning during my daily Bible reading time; it was mostly kind of boring, however, in the middle of what I was reading I found something very important and wanted to share it with you.

In chapter 33, towards the end, it says this:

³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ³² Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

This reminded me of what it says in the New Testament in the book of James, chapter 1:

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

I just wanted to tell you that throughout your life, God will be putting some very special people around you, people who He will use to teach you and guide you in your love and relationship with Him. You are a sharp girl, and you will know who they are. I want to ask you to do two things.

First of all, listen to them. Don't tune them out but take the time to really listen and think about what they are saying. God will help you to know what they are talking about and to understand what they mean.

But don't stop there. Allow what they are saying to change the way you think and to change the way you live. Put into practice the things they are trying to teach you. If you do this your life will be solid and the struggles and problems that do come your way will not be able to destroy you.

If you don't believe me (and I know you do!), then read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27. He also is talking about listening AND doing.

You're b-e-a-utiful, and I love you muchly!!!

Papa

Coming to visit

Hey Beautiful Girl,

Nani and I are coming to see you tomorrow ... and we each have a gift for you. I hope you like them. They are for Valentine's Day, mostly because you are the cutest Valentine in the world.

We like to give you gifts, because gifts are meant to tell someone how important they are and how much they are loved.

God gives us gifts all the time. One of my favorite gifts is beauty. When I look out at the world around me and see all the beauty and beautiful things, it makes me feel alive. I think beauty is a direct reflection of the glory of God. The world is full of all kinds of beauty, made up of different shapes and sizes, colors and textures. It is like beauty is such a big thing that it takes all these different ways to express it.

I think God's glory is that way. God's glory is so much that it will take all of eternity to be revealed. That is what we have to look forward to when we leave this life and enter into the realm of Heaven. Heaven will be an ever-increasing adventure of experiencing God's glory.

God loves us and has given us the gift of beauty to show us a glimpse of Heaven. Always trust and hope in Jesus and his love for you, and then we can experience Heaven together.

I love you very much.

Papa