...I feel so sorry for the kid.
Don't get me wrong, I'm more than honored and grateful that I had a son named Noah. But let's face it, being the little brother of a dead kid is a tough act to follow.
It makes for a neurotic mom at times. Not all the time, but for sure sometimes...
I know, at least in my head, that Noah did do some normal things.
But, when Ryan does those same things, it freaks me out...just in case those things weren't normal things at all.
So, he's been stretching his neck and back really far back to look around the room. Noah did this. I didn't like it when Noah did this. It was always accompanied by a weird sound and then he'd kind of pass out, you could say.
Ryan doesn't pass out. He doesn't make weird sounds.
He's just curious, apparently.
But still, I called my little sister who has a baby boy 9 days younger than Ryan and told her the scene...
...her kid does the same dumb ass move.
So, Ryan's fine. I'm fine. Her kid is fine.
And Noah is fine. Healed. Well. Whole. Having a blast in the presence of the One True God.
Happy Birthday, little mister! Thank you. Thank you for being our son. Thank you for coming into our lives and letting us love on you! We miss you but know you are a bit preoccupied with whatever it is you are doing in God's presence...so have fun with that!
We'll see you when God says so...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Pink snow
Just before the sun breaks the horizon in the east, the most breathtaking thing happens a few miles west of our house...the Rocky Mountains turn shades of pink. All shades, even ranging to salmon. It is amazing, to say the least.
And then, as the sun rises, all the colors fade and what is left is plain, old, white snow-capped mountains. And by "plain, old, white" I mean:
I have lived in the Denver, Colorado area for almost 9 years now and I have never gotten sick of looking west at the mountains. I am in awe that there is a true God, the One and Only God, who is capable of such beauty and creativity.
Now, for those who know me, you know I'm not a fan of being cold. In fact, I'm headed to get some blood work done today because I get downright cranky and teary when I am cold, which is pretty much every day the temps dip below 50. It must be my Arizona upbringing, being spoiled in the desert? Somehow, though, I can handle snow here better than I did in Minnesota for 8 years...but, I do love snow.
There, I admitted it. I love snow.
...from a distance (smiley face)
Snow is so pure. And to see hundreds of feet of it piled atop mountains is one of my favorite sights. It's so clean looking that it's hard for me to look away. No flaws. No stains. No dirt or crud. Not the snow you find at a dog park or along the highway. That's disgusting and the furthest thing from what I am describing.
Fresh, beautiful snow in the quiet of the forest. Clean, white snow in the field outside your farm.
And the beauty in it isn't just for us to play in and see. God gives it to every. single. person. as a reminder.
God talks about snow in the Bible. And He compares it to the way He views us.
Can you even imagine? He, God eternal, without imperfection, pure and holy, looks at us as though we were like snow.
David cries out, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
God answers in Isaiah, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
When I look with my human eyes on the pink snowy mountains before the daybreak, though beautiful and breathtaking, my mind only sees the effects of the sunrise. My mind forgets momentarily that the mountains aren't actually hues of pink, but white, pure clean white.
Then the Light bursts forth over the horizon. The color is gone. The sun has shone and shown the true color.
The color white.
When I look in the mirror, I often judge myself. When we look around, we look at the outside of people. We see scarlet, pink, salmon, crimson. It's the effect of the world's lack of light, aka sin, that causes us to see an unsightly mark or imperfection in another.
It's the effect of trusting the Son, Jesus Christ, with our lives that we are able to look in the mirror and see what God sees. That we can look at another and know the same God who created the Universe and sees us as clean, new, pure, is the same God who created that guy, and that guy, and that guy over there...and when He looks at them, and at me, He sees white.
We aren't perfect...but it's how God sees us because of crimson red blood that was given for us.
I am so grateful God puts reminders like sunrises and majestic mountains on His Earth to show His unconditional love for every. single. one. of. us.
And then, as the sun rises, all the colors fade and what is left is plain, old, white snow-capped mountains. And by "plain, old, white" I mean:
- Clean
- Fresh
- Pure
- Spotless
- New
- Unadulterated
- Uncontaminated
- Untainted
- Pristine
I have lived in the Denver, Colorado area for almost 9 years now and I have never gotten sick of looking west at the mountains. I am in awe that there is a true God, the One and Only God, who is capable of such beauty and creativity.
Now, for those who know me, you know I'm not a fan of being cold. In fact, I'm headed to get some blood work done today because I get downright cranky and teary when I am cold, which is pretty much every day the temps dip below 50. It must be my Arizona upbringing, being spoiled in the desert? Somehow, though, I can handle snow here better than I did in Minnesota for 8 years...but, I do love snow.
There, I admitted it. I love snow.
...from a distance (smiley face)
Snow is so pure. And to see hundreds of feet of it piled atop mountains is one of my favorite sights. It's so clean looking that it's hard for me to look away. No flaws. No stains. No dirt or crud. Not the snow you find at a dog park or along the highway. That's disgusting and the furthest thing from what I am describing.
Fresh, beautiful snow in the quiet of the forest. Clean, white snow in the field outside your farm.
And the beauty in it isn't just for us to play in and see. God gives it to every. single. person. as a reminder.
God talks about snow in the Bible. And He compares it to the way He views us.
Can you even imagine? He, God eternal, without imperfection, pure and holy, looks at us as though we were like snow.
David cries out, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
God answers in Isaiah, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
When I look with my human eyes on the pink snowy mountains before the daybreak, though beautiful and breathtaking, my mind only sees the effects of the sunrise. My mind forgets momentarily that the mountains aren't actually hues of pink, but white, pure clean white.
Then the Light bursts forth over the horizon. The color is gone. The sun has shone and shown the true color.
The color white.
When I look in the mirror, I often judge myself. When we look around, we look at the outside of people. We see scarlet, pink, salmon, crimson. It's the effect of the world's lack of light, aka sin, that causes us to see an unsightly mark or imperfection in another.
It's the effect of trusting the Son, Jesus Christ, with our lives that we are able to look in the mirror and see what God sees. That we can look at another and know the same God who created the Universe and sees us as clean, new, pure, is the same God who created that guy, and that guy, and that guy over there...and when He looks at them, and at me, He sees white.
We aren't perfect...but it's how God sees us because of crimson red blood that was given for us.
I am so grateful God puts reminders like sunrises and majestic mountains on His Earth to show His unconditional love for every. single. one. of. us.
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