thoughts on life according to me

This may not make much cohesive sense, and I apologize.

I love all three of my children. I love watching how they interact with each other and other people, children and adults alike. I enjoy having one on one time with them, and encouraging their individual personalities to grow as parts of the whole family as well as apart from the whole unit. (I realize that this will become more pronounced as they grow and need more independance)

It is important for children to learn that they are part of a whole, as well as a whole entity too. I strongly feel, though, that culturally we've lost the prespective that we are not only individuals, but also community. Too many parents encourage their children to focus solely inward to the point where they don't have to see the people around them.

Yesterday I was at a bible study and we're following the lectionary. We started talking abpout service and how when we spend ourselves in service of others, we gain so much. That reminded me of growing up. Every time I felt down, left out, alone, and feeling sorry for myself, my parents encouraged me towards service based on the thought that "when you lose yourself in service, you find yourself." I may now take that one step further and say that when you lose yourself in service you find Christ, and it is through Christ that all things are possible.

The idea of grace is that there is absolutely nothing we can do that will bring us to God. We constantly turn away. We can't help it. That is what Sin is. Where grace comes in is that we look to Christ and depend solely on the grace that comes. No matter how hard we try to swim, we never get closer to shore (thanks Hubby, for the analogy!). But the lifebelt is alway there.

When children (and people in general) realize there is more out there than themselves, that there is hope in a borken world, the seeds of compassion are sewn and they come to understand that living a life is more than just doing what you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. It's being in community. It's being there for people in the community and letting them be there for you.

Our little family has been richly blessed by people. People in relationship with us, people in relationship with the Creator. Without their support and prayers, things over the last few years would have been unbearable.

Thank you.