Peace in the Valley

I cannot always write on a daily basis, but I hope whoever out there who reads this will check every so often. So much is happening that I am overwhelmed by God's goodness and can never think what to tell and what to leave out. I could sing of His love forever.

All three of our boys are so happy and sweet together these day. The new boys think their big brother Rob is cool and he is good to them. He is really a remarkable young man, so nice. He has risen to the call of God on his life and has patiently adapted to sharing his parents, home and stuff with two little livewires. They clean the kitchen together, shoot baskets, throw footballs and baseballs, play chess together and play video games. They have a time limit and set a timer on their own for when to stop, and are very trustworthy with that.

For a few days there we were having trouble with some difficult moods. For several days one boy was not himself. When Bob called from out of town, I told him of my dificulties. He suggested that I explain to the boys the two kingdoms.

So I called them to the kitchen table and reached for a piece of green paper. I cut out a big circle to represent the beautiful world God created. Then I cut a dark circle and showed how when sin entered the planet, it cast a dark shadow over the world. Then when Jesus came, His cross changed everything and Light appeared on the planet. I cut out a white circle to represent His goodness and return to innocence that is possible now for us.

The kids were listeneing wide eyed as usual, when suddenly James grabbed the dark circle off the table and and smacked it against his chest. "THIS IS JAMES!" he anounced. Peter and I just stared at him. He then took the white circle and made a battle between the dark and light. Back and forth they went, as a great struggle ensued in James heart.

It may have been at that moment or soon after that something took place inside our boy' heart, because he is now quite changed and so relaxed and pleasant. Daily he is more openly loving to me, perhaps more trusting. It is a wonderful thing. His favorite song is Keith Green's "You Put This Love in My Heart." Now it is he who puts in the CD before Peter can get to it in the morning or anytime in the day. Both boys know what kind of spirits are evoked with what kind of music, good or bad, and James says, "This is good moosic, Mama."

Peter is an early riser, and since he comes out fully dressed, hair combed and wearing a big "Goood Morning, Mom" smile, I have decide to include him in my quiet time. This morning he looked up a couple verses in the Russian Bible and read them to me. Then we said the Lord's Prayer together. Each day he can recite more of it, especially the part about "our daily bread". That is the highlight of the prayer as far as he and James are concerned!

Actually their preoccupation with food is tapering off to a more normal growing-boy level as they see that there is always lots of bread and cheese and milk and apples at our house, and a store nearby if we run low on something. They still love preparing meals, baking cookies, and know how to operate the bread machine and grind fresh flour. The other day they made yogurt with me. Sometimes it is as hard to get near the kichen counter for me as it was when our five daughters were at home!

There are times when I think I will burst with joy. The Presence of Jesus is so good in our house.