Our Sheepish Sheep

Not surprisingly, Elisabeth got a bit of stage fright last night for the Christmas pageant. So she had a little cuddle with Mommy before the show.

Serious Happiness

There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious.
(C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle, quoted in Desiring God, page 9)

Put it in my Citibank

Elisabeth has apparently confused piggybank and citibank. So she just picked up some loose change and said,

I'm going to put this in my Citibank!

Rehearsing to be a sheep

Elisabeth is going to debut as a sheep tonight! Yesterday she rehearsed with the head-dress (after some convincing . . .).

She knows my phone number!

This weekend, we were skyping with my brother and sister-in-law (so they could see Elisabeth on the webcam), and Elisabeth rattled off my phone number! She has been able to spell her first, middle and last names for a little while now, as the result of repetition. I guess she has also learned my phone number by listening to me say it on various occasions.

It never ceases to amaze me what Elisabeth picks up without any sort of intentional instruction on my part.

Overcoming fear and trepidation

On Friday Elisabeth went to the pediatrician for her three year check-up. (Yes, even the children of pediatricians go to the pediatrician.)

Elisabeth has a poor history with pediatricians, even though she is very good with her mother. She (not surprisingly) associates visits to the doctor's office with the pain of shots (since virtually all of her trips to the pediatrician have involved one of the normal childhood vaccinations). So usually she falls to hysterics as soon as we enter the office because she knows what's coming.

That made me all the more shocked yesterday when the mention of shots didn't put her in tears. I told her all to expect in our visit, and that at the end there would be two shots, and she was OK with it. She complied with all the examinations and screenings except the hearing screening because the headphones were really tight. She cried when she got her shots, but had put it behind her by the time we left the office.

I was so proud and pleased!

Name this animal

On Elisabeth's birthday we walked home through the park. As we did, we saw a pair of eyes looking at us. My flash saturation was not great enough to capture the whole animal. Can you make out what it is from this picture? 

Scissors

Elisabeth received playdough scissors for her birthday and has been practicing a new skill! Thanks Emily and Joe

I want them to be good

I love Elisabeth's simplicity. I love how she sees through the lenses of good and bad. Already her conscience tells her that some things are good, and other things are bad.

When we read her The Big Picture Story Bible, she will observe from the text and illustrations,

"They're being bad. I want them to be good."

I love it! That's the point! We are bad people who need to be made good because we can't do it ourselves. Because of the Fall, we live "in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). Her simple observations and black and white categories make way for a simple presentation of the gospel: "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy . . ." (Titus 3:4-5).

I can see so many ways that I need to become more childlike to welcome the Kingdom.

Frosting on the nose

Can you guess the sequence of events that led to frosting on the nose?

Now THAT'S a Christmas present

"Karsten [Piper], for example, worked hard on one gift one year. One Christmas morning in 1975, my husband [John Piper] stepped around a large, loose-flapped cardboard box to get to his chair at the breakfast table. 'Where's Karsten?' he asked, expecting to see our excited three-year-old raring to leap into the day.
Sitting down, I said, 'He'll be here in a minute.' I nudged the box with my toe.
Karsten threwback the flaps and rose to his full three-foot stature. 'And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them . . .' He had memorized Luke 2:8-20 as a gift for his dad." (Piper, Noel. Treasuring God in Our Traditions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2003. p81)

Now that is a great Christmas present!

I don't want any more. I just want more of more.

Elisabeth is very fond of those things that are spread on bread: cream cheese, butter, jelly, peanut butter. In fact, she is so fond of the spreads that she often eats them, and leaves the bread (i.e. she licks the spread off the bread).

Just now she finished extracting the peanut butter from a piece of bread and declared:

I don't want any more. I just want more of more.

I trust you understand now what she meant.

We don't make messes

Last night I read Elisabeth the account (from the Big Picture Story Bible) of Jesus cleansing the temple. After I had read the section to her, I asked her questions about it, to see what she had understood. In the midst of my questions, she interrupted:

"I don't want him to be bad. I want him to be good."

I tried to explain that it was the people who were being bad by selling things in the temple, and that was why Jesus was driving them out. He was actually being good. She answered:

"We don't make messes."

It was a good reminder to me that the gospel stories, while familiar to me, are controversial. Jesus was making a mess in the temple. Every kid knows (or should know) not to make a mess. So what gives Jesus the right to go in, turn over tables, and drive out animals and people with a whip? That is the question that gets at Jesus' identity, and His authority, and can help point little children to who Jesus truly is.

Things that hang on a Christmas tree

Elisabeth has gotten the concept that the things that go on a Christmas tree typically hang. So yesterday, she got the flyswatter (which had been hanging on a hook) and hung it on the Christmas tree.

Now we're going to have to teach her which kind of things hang on a Christmas tree.

Melissa & Doug floor puzzles

Among the many great gifts that Elisabeth received for her birthday is the Melissa & Doug Beginning Skills floor puzzle. In one box are four puzzles: (1) alphabet (2) numbers 1-10 (3) colors (4) shapes. Each puzzle has twelve large, sturdy pieces - to my mind a perfect number for a just-3 year old. Any more and she might be intimidated by the task.

How do they package 4 puzzles in one box without confusing the pieces? They put simple shape patterns on the back of the puzzle pieces. One puzzle has circles, another squares, another triangles, and another rhombuses. So Elisabeth can sort them all by herself!

I've been a fan of Melissa & Doug for a long time for their quality and durability. Now I'm further impressed with their clever, simple design! Thanks, Mike and Lauren!

Happy Birthday Elisabeth

Happy December 13th!
We praise God for our little girl.

I washed my toothbrush

Tonight, after eating the remainders of the birthday cupcake icing, Elisabeth brushed her teeth. (I typically let her brush first, and then I brush for her.) I stepped out of the bathroom while she was brushing and came back to put more toothpaste on her toothbrush before I brushed her teeth. As I did, she smiled and said,

"I washed my toothbrush with soap," and pointed to the liquid handsoap on the sink.

I brushed her teeth, and she didn't say a word about the flavor of the toothpaste/soap!

I ate the icing!

Today Elisabeth had a cupcake with Auntie Em to celebrate her birthday (one day early). I asked Elisabeth, "Did you eat your cupcake?" She answered,

"No. I ate the icing!"

She told the truth.

A creche

In Treasuring God in our Traditions Noel Piper suggests that using a creche [nativity scene] can be a very tangible, visible way of making Jesus the focal point of our celebration. For toddlers who are particularly visual and tactile, it is a constant reminder of what this season means.

The Pipers make the creche the focal point by arranging it on a table, and gathering the gifts underneath. Anyone who visits will notice that the center is not a tree with lights, and the very contrast will draw attention to what the creche represents.

Sequencing Numbers

Today was the first time ever that Elisabeth has been able to hear and input a sequence of numbers. For sometime she has been Banana 411, a little flash game that audibly tells the child three numbers in sequence and then asks them to input them on a "telephone pad" on the screen. Until now, Elisabeth has been able to hear the numbers, but not type them in order. The last number is the most recent in her mind, and so is often the first one that she tries to input. It is fun to see that she is slowly beginning to put them in order!

The beauty of a 'biner

Yesterday we went out for dinner with Rebecca's parents. Somehow the Durabib that I usually keep tucked in the backpack was not there, and Elisabeth was in a beautiful Sunday dress. So we had to improvise. I realized that the carabiner on which I carry my keys would work very nicely in place of a clothespin to hold a napkin on Elisabeth, which it did. It made me feel just a little bit like MacGyver. :)

That's an Elisabeth Koodoo!

Yesterday we went as a family to a museum where we were looking at African mammals. One of exhibits had Koodoos (spiral horned antelopes). I tried to explain to Elisabeth that the daddy Koodoo had horns and the mommy did not. Elisabeth saw the third Koodoo in the diorama, which was noticeably smaller than the male and female to which I was pointing, and said,

"That's an Elisabeth koodoo!"

Bethlehem Tree

I really like Noel Piper's idea of a Bethlehem Tree, rather than a Christmas tree. She describes it this way:

While the children are very young, one way to create visual reminders is by using a large bare branch as a Bethlehem Tree. It would be hung with ornaments and items that picture or symbolize the Bethlehem event. When children are older, the branch might become a Jesus Tree, reaching further for its symbolism to include:

• Ornaments and items that represent the nativity.
• Items that relate to Jesus' life.
• Symbols of who Jesus is, as found in Scripture's names for him, word pictures and parables.
• Reminders of Old Testament prophecy and history leading up to his birth.

Many of our Jesus Tree items are not 'ornaments.' They are made of cloth or sticks or clay, or we reinvented something as a symbol. For example, the lion is from an old zoo game; the hammer and saw were part of a toddler's tool set; the globe is a key ring. (Piper, Noel. Treasuring God in our Traditions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2003. p83)

I love that the Bethlehem Tree intentionally points children, particularly young children, to the reality of Christ by involving them in its creation. The children become responsible for seeing and selecting objects that remind them of Jesus. Do children who set up Christmas trees think that way as they hang the lights?

Sketching

I've shot a bunch of pictures of Elisabeth at the museum, but almost none of them turn out because you're not allowed to use a flash, and the light is low enough that a slow shutter speed usually catches quite a blur or motion. This, I think, was the first success!

Evangelical doctrines and evangelical experience

In reading John Owen, I have gained two particular insights into evangelicalism:

1. The evangel, the good news, is not merely the means by which we receive life and enter the family of God; it is that by which we live every breath. Inasmuch as we portray it merely as the means of escape from hell, or the starting point of the Christian life, we betray its true power as the news that never ceases to be good and never ceases to be our salvation.
2. It is possible to have evangelical doctrine without evangelical experience. One can have orthodox doctrinal knowledge of Christ, "but the sight of his glory does not consist in that" (190).

Owen put it this way:

It is a great evidence of the power of unbelief, when we can satisfy ourselves without an experience in our own hearts of the great things, in this kind of joy, peace, consolation, assurance, that are promised in the Gospels. For how can it be supposed that we do indeed believe the promises of things future, namely, of heaven, immortality, and glory, the faith of which is the foundation of all religion, when we do not believe the promises of the present reward in these spiritual privileges? And how shall we be thought to believe them, when we do not endeavor after an experience of the things themselves in our own souls, but are even contented without them? (Owen, John. "The Glory of Christ." Glasgow: Christian Heritage. 2004. p198)

Evangelical experience is just as important as evangelical doctrine. For how can we believe these great truths without seeking an experience of the things themselves in our own souls?

Noel Calendar

I found another brilliant idea in Treasuring God in Our Traditions. In order to sense the value of the idea, I'll let Noel Piper share it in her own experience:

For our family a more permanent [Advent] calendar has become a tradition. When our first child was a toddler, I could hardly find any Christmas things that had to do with Jesus. So I created the Noel Calendar, a burlap banner with plastic and wood figures that by December 25 have been attached with Velcro across the top half of the banner to represent the Christmas story. Throughout the month, that story is told in increments, starting over at the beginning and adding a bit more each day.

The first year we used the calendar, I learned an important lesson: Repitition is an excellent way for a child to memorize. In mid-December, when Karsten was barely two, my mother-in-law died in a bus crash in Israel. With little time to plan, we were on our way from Minnesota to South Carolina to take care of my father-in-law, who had been injured. On an impulse I tossed the calendar into a suitcase. In the midst of so much confusion, shock and irregularity, Karsten forgot everything he'd learned about potty training and too much of what he knew about behaving. But even though he could hardly make a whole sentence on his own yet, he could pick up the Christmas story at any point and keep it going, word for word, as he'd heard it day after day when we did the calendar. (Piper, Noel. Treasuring God in our Traditions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2003. pp78-79)

We tell our children stories; that is without exception. But what is the central story, the repeated and overriding one that we impress upon them?

What better way to repeat and reinforce the story for a toddler than through a lift-the-flap, sequenced panel that leads them through Advent to the birth of the Son of God?

Climbing in stripes

I took this one a couple of weeks ago when it was warmer. I couldn't resist all the horizontal lines! 

Listening to great preaching

What is the young preacher to do? Let him listen to other preachers, the best and most experienced. He will learn a lot from them, negatively and positively. He will learn what not to do, and learn a great deal of what he should do. Listen to preachers! Also read sermons. But make sure that they were published before 1900! Read the sermons of Spurgeon and Whitefield and Edwards and all the giants. Those men themselves read the Puritans and were greatly helped by them. They seem to have lived on the Puritans. Well, let the young preacher in turn live on them, or perhaps be led by them to the Puritans. (Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. "Preaching
& Preachers." Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. 1971 p119-120)

I think Lloyd-Jones' counsel is right on, but I wouldn't limit it to preachers. What is the young Christian to do? Listen to the best preachers! Now that task is much, much easier with the internet. You can listen to readings of the sermons of

Jonathan Edwards
Charles Spurgeon
Andrew Murray
John Bunyan
A.W. Tozer

among others, on sermonaudio.com (although their search function is very inefficient).

Among living preachers, I recommend:

• John Piper as one of the most profound, expository, missional preachers
• Mark Driscoll for passionate, Reformed Gospel-centered teaching aimed at the unchurched of Seattle
• Mark Dever for thoughtful exposition that (almost) always addresses both the saved and the unsaved in the audience

And I think that every one of them, if not a Puritan, would point back to the Puritans as a repository of anointed, Biblical preaching. Happy listening!

Gifts to Jesus

It may be easy for us to forget that this is Jesus' birthday. That usually means gifts to the birthday person. Children especially will think it normal that Jesus should receive something for his birthday. We'll need to talk with them about what it means to give a gift to Jesus since we can't put it in his hand. One of the unusual things about Jesus is that when we give a gift to him, other people benefit. 'And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me"' (Matthew 25:40).

If you decide early in the Advent season where your gift is going, you can be praying for the recipient throughout the season. Your prayer becomes an added gift to the family with special needs, the Christian relief agency, the local ministry, the missionary, or whomever you have chosen. . . .

The children at our house have had a simple drawstring bag - a shepherd's pouch, we call it - in which to collect Jesus' gift throughout December. On Christmas Eve, during a special family worship time, the children lay their pouches beside the manger of our special nativity scene. We speak to them then of giving their gifts to Jesus, as the shepherds came, giving Jesus worship and wonder. (Piper, Noel. Treasuring God in our Traditions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2003. p86)

I love this idea as a way to honor Jesus in a way that is practical and tangible for toddlers. The emphasis is not on the gift, or even on the recipient, but on the King.

Another afternoon with John Owen

Once again Elisabeth marooned me in Starbucks (it was 26 degrees outside, so the park was not an option today) with The Glory of Christ while she slept in the stroller. (We live in a fourth floor walk-up, which means there is zero chance of getting Elisabeth from the stroller up four flights of stairs and into bed without waking her.) The more I read of this book, the higher it moves on my list of books to take with me if I was only allowed to take x number of books with me to the mission field.

Here's one little glimpse of why:

. . . to be neglective of endeavouring an experience of the power and grace of the gospel in our own souls, under a profession of religion, is no less destructive and pernicious than impenitence in any course of sin.
(Owen, John. "The Glory of Christ." Glasgow: Christian Heritage. 2004. p208)

Trains 2

The Joy of Heaven

" . . . I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7)

In three consecutive parables (of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son) Jesus magnifies the joy of heaven in repentance. As I read these parable last night, I had an overwhelming sense of how this reality defines the family of God, the church. When we taste of the joy of heaven, it makes us jealous for the repentance of sinners.

O God, give us such a taste of the joy of heaven that we persistently, joyfully call sinners to repentance!

Treasuring God in our Traditions

As Christmas approaches, I think this is a perfect time to reflect on traditions and the role that they play in families.

Before reading Treasuring God in our Traditions I had not thought much about the role that traditions play in shaping the ways that children think about life - and holidays in particular. Noel Piper did an excellent job of setting me straight, and giving some helpful advice toward creatively and deliberately choosing and establishing traditions that set our children's eyes properly on God.

So as we approach Christmas day, I wanted to solicit your input on traditions that have helped you to see and savor Jesus in Christmas.

Comment away!

Orzo and Peas

I couldn't find my regular orzo and peas recipe, so I googled "orzo peas" and found Cook's Illustrated's recipe. Not surprisingly, it was excellent, and not too involved for a Cook's Illustrated recipe.

My breath is not feeling better

Elisabeth just went into the drawer that has the breath mints and asked:

"Please may I have one? My breath is not feeling better."

Little did I know that breath had feeling!

Back to Normal

Elisabeth has been sick for the last four or five days, and today her temperature was finally back to normal. Many of you who knew apart from the blog have emailed and called to ask how she is, and we truly appreciate it.

I think this may be the longest illness Elisabeth has had . . . and I'm glad to be moving past it!

Lighting the tree

Elisabeth helped Grandma put lights on the tree!

Bag of Tricks

As I mentioned before, I'm convinced that parents are responsible for planning to keep their children engaged. I think that is true at home as well as in public, but here I want to focus on going out in public. What to bring? Here are some of the things that I put in the backpack (although not all of them every time):

• BrainQuest (every time) [corrected so it does not appear to be a search for Brian]
• Counting Cards (every time) [brightly colored objects on one side with the number of objects printed on the back . . . good for learning numeration]
• Books! (every time)
• Snacks
• Spanish/English flashcard game
• Marker book [learn to form letters by tracing]
• Sketchbook & colored pencils

Most of the things in the bag of tricks involve me in some way. At this stage, that is strategic: I'm actively teaching her. As time goes on, I plan to steadily give her more and more responsibility in her activities.

Yes, this is very urban. I can sit on the bus or subway with Elisabeth and do these things, whereas a parent in a car can't engage a child in the same way. It is one of the perks of city living!

Staying inside the lines

Recently, without prompting, Elisabeth drew a circle and colored it in without going outside the lines! For some time I have been encouraging her to do it, and modeling it, but seemingly to no avail. But finally it started to pay off!

Two days later she did the same with watercolors. She first drew a circle, and then filled it in!

Poinsettias

 

Tomato and Sausage Risotto

Risotto never tops the list of quick meals, but if you're up for some stirring, this one is excellent.

Modeling behavior

Last week at swimming lessons I was working deliberately on getting Elisabeth to use her arms for the strokes. She can swim around very competently with a little backpack on using her legs to keep her afloat and move around, but she doesn't yet use her arms for locomotion at all.

So this week I had her hang on the rail on the wall and told her to watch me while I swam a few strokes of the front crawl down the pool and back. When we started practicing together after that, I could see her deliberately trying to do forward arm strokes for the first time, and it occurred to me that while for several weeks the teacher has been telling the children how to do the arm strokes, Elisabeth had likely never seen anyone swimming properly. All she had seen was her other little friends doing the doggie paddle. It was a reminder to me that kids need modeling. They need to see what the real thing looks like, and not just hear about it - even if the daddy strokes are much bigger and faster than she will do.

Trains

We found a free model train exhibit that Elisabeth loved! She was captivated by the moving trains, and the detail of the little world.

A soft answer turns away wrath

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Prov 15:1)

O how true this is! The soft answer keeps the focus on the issue, and not on the confrontation itself. It also makes clear to a child that one does not need to resort to volume to establish authority. Speaking softly makes clear that authority is found elsewhere - and speaks volumes.

As I write this, I am so grateful for my experience as a teacher. I wish I could say that as a teacher I never raised my voice, but my students can tell you that is not true. However, my first-year students will tell a different story than those that I had in subsequent years. I heard rumors of teachers who never spoke above a conversational tone - and their students listened! They are my heroes. I don't get to emulate them in the classroom anymore, but I do at home. I strongly believe that parents and teachers who understand their authority, and the nature of their children's hearts, can consistently speak softly, even in conflict, and can build the respect and admiration of their children.

[Note: After I composed this post, I had a confrontation in my weekly science class. I took the group on a field trip to the park to observe trees (which is much more interesting than it sounds). There were two new students with us, who apparently aren't accustomed to having to obey. They were running around, and I told them to stop, and they didn't. I raised my voice to get their attention, and then told them in no uncertain terms that if they couldn't follow directions, I wouldn't take them on field trips. In retrospect, I think I would have been much better off to have found another, quieter way to get their attention, and then told them with the same firmness that their behavior would not be tolerated. Speaking softly is fairly easy with Elisabeth, but I'm still not where I want to be in living by this with other people's children.]

Sitting by herself

Last week Elisabeth sat by herself (without sitting on my lap, or right in front of me on the floor) for the first time in her museum classes! Usually she is happy to be independent during the discovery time, but when it comes to the story time, she is more timid and clingy. So I was all the more impressed when twice this week she sat on the floor with the other kids (at least those who weren't clinging to their parents or care-givers) to participate.

It is an encouragement to me that the Daddy-daughter classes are having a positive developmental effect!

Parenting and Hope

Several weeks ago I bought a used stroller. I went to the building where I was to pick it up, and sat in the lobby waiting for the stroller. I pulled out a book to read, and the doorman asked me what I was reading.
"What Jesus Demands from the World," I replied.
"That's good," he said, "It's important to believe in something."
"So long as it is true," I followed.
Our conversation continued on the importance of belief, and the challenge of raising children in these days. As we did, I realized that the issue is hope. So I asked him directly, "What is your hope?"
He answered, "That there will be more good than evil in the world."

Our conversation was interrupted by the man who returned with the stroller, but it struck me deeply that the hope that people in our culture can have is at best wishful thinking. It may well be that there are many altruistic people; but will they be more, or more influential than those who are militantly evil?

The gospel that we preach does not close its eyes and say, "There will be more good than evil." Nor does it say that our hope is only in the world to come, so that we just hunker down and wait. The hope of the gospel is that as wickedness increases (and it will, Daniel 12:1), that our King yet reigns and will, through us, turn many to righteousness (Daniel 12:3), and will finally come and put all things under His feet.

This is the paradox of the Kingdom. It is truly very present: "The kingdom is among you," and it is present with power in this age. Yet in the wisdom of God, the kingdom does not advance to a cultural dominance over the world. Rather, it advances though scorned and despised, while wickedness increases. It is not only possible, but is prophesied that evil will increase AND the Kingdom will advance. The fullness of the Kingdom waits not on us to bring it, but on the return of the King, to defeat His enemies by the breath of His mouth, and to vindicate His servants who have been shattered (Daniel 12:7). The hope that we present to our children is the most glorious of all hopes that grows through trial rather than diminishing, and is undimmed by evil. Our is a great and glorious hope!

Spelling her name

Yesterday Elisabeth spelled her entire first name (correctly) by herself!

We've been working on it for a while, but I didn't expect her to get the whole thing so quickly.

Pumping

Elisabeth is beginning to get the concept of moving her legs to keep the swing going. I don't think her pumping yet has any effect on keeping her going, but soon it will!

Be like men who are waiting for their master

There is a phrase that keeps coming off the page at me throughout the Gospels.

"Be like men who are waiting for their master to come home . . ." (Luke 12:36)

This is how we are to live in this age. Jesus spoke it to those who were in His very presence 2000 years ago. How much more do we need to hear these words now, as the ages hasten on! We are to stay dressed for action, and keep our lamps burning (35) in expectation of the return of the great Master. He has given us responsibility, and we must bear it well. The reward for those who obey is unspeakably great:

"Blessed are those servants whose master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them" (37).

I can't get my mind around that - and I love it! The only way that I will live in expectation is if I regard my Master as truly worthy of my obedience in watching and waiting. Yet for those who have true regard for their Master, and believe Him and wait for Him even when His return tarries, He promises staggering reward. O Holy Spirit, let us hear and receive this word, and be continually like men who are waiting for their Master to come home.

Mister Seahorse

I am not an Eric Carle groupie. I think that he is a very good painter, and that some of his books have literary value (which other books lack altogether, in my opinion).

However, I am intrigued by Mister Seahorse scientifically, sociologically and artistically. Through literature and watercolor, Carle surveys a number of aquatic animals in which the father carries or otherwise protects the eggs, rather than the mother.

It intrigues me scientifically, because the obvious norm is that either the mother lays the eggs on a bed, or keeps them contained within her body until they are ready to hatch. I must say that Carle educated me in the course of the book. Yet I am no less drawn in sociologically by what Carle is saying in choosing these underwater fathers as the theme of his book. Clearly his interest extends beyond sea creatures, and understandably my interest is piqued as a full time father.

I wouldn't put this book on my list of great literature, but it certainly is fascinating to a father on many levels.

Close up on a swing

Wemberly Worried

He's done it again! Kevin Henkes has brilliantly captured a child's nature in Wemberly Worried. Not only has he done that, but he has provided a great piece of literature for timid kids to confront their anxieties. I think a worrisome child could easily identify with many of Wemberly's fears, and thereby get sucked into the resolution.

Henkes is too apt a student of human nature for a perfect fix. What he presents instead is how one little mouse takes a step toward courage from fear in a way that can give a child impetus to do the same.

I think this is one of those books that is great for strategic use with an anxious child - and a fun book for anyone, whether worrisome or not.

What's in your hand?

This morning I had an interesting experience climbing stairs. I was carrying the stroller, and Elisabeth was walking. However, to my chagrin, she wasn't holding the railing, but was putting her little fist on the railing. So I asked her, "Elisabeth, what's in your hand?"

"Hamburger," she replied.

About 15 minutes before we had been pretending to cook food (one of Elisabeth's favorite games). She had prepared hamburgers, and she wasn't about to let them go (or pretend that they weren't there!) to hold onto the railing.

When I told her to hold the railing properly, I watched her shift the imaginary hamburger to the other fist before taking hold of the railing. Imagination is a powerful thing!

Teaching Penny to hold on

As I took this picture, Elisabeth said, "Penny needs to learn to hold the railing!"

I'm in the class!

This afternoon Elisabeth and I went to a class for preschoolers at a museum. Today we looked at animals in ancient works of art, one of which was a sculpture of a lion. The curator directed the children's attention to how the sculptor had created the appearance of a mane by using wavy lines. She said, "Let's all say 'mane.'" So, trying to model the kind of participation I wanted from Elisabeth, I joined in: "Mane." Elisabeth turned to me and said:

"Don't say 'mane.' I'm in the class!"

I will warn you whom to fear

I have often heard Christians say, "We're not supposed to fear God; we're supposed to love Him," or "fear means to revere." Then I read Jesus' words:

"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" (Luke 12:4-5)

Jesus is telling us not to fear (and He means that in the ordinary way we use that word) those who kill the body. Don't fear murderers. Don't fear terrorists. But do fear; fear the One who has authority to cast into hell (and he uses that word in just teh same way He did in the previous sentence).

I'll gladly accept that we ought to revere the One who has authority to cast into hell, but the language Jesus uses here goes far beyond that. He is saying that there is something far more fearful than death; and the One who has the authority over it is to be feared more than death. Truly fearing Him is what will enable us to live without any fear in this life: "Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Luke 12:7). The One to be feared supremely cares for us! This is good news! We can (and must) fear Him and trust Him and love Him at the same time!

If we fear Him as we ought, we will live with unimaginable freedom in this world.

Swinging with Penny

A Weekend with Wendell

Have you ever dreaded a particular guest in your home? Parents and children alike can resonate with Sophie in A Weekend with Wendell.

Kevin Henkes succeeds in portraying Wendell as the perfect brat, and the worst possible house guest. The illustrations alone are enough to evoke memories of a particular egocentric child, but the text takes it even farther, showing just how horrible a little child can be.

Of all of Henkes' picture books that I've read (with the exception of his board books, which I don't think measure up) I was least satisfied with this ending. In my opinion, one of the Henkes' hallmarks is a notable change in the character of the protagonist. However, in this case, I'm not sure that the change is one I admire. Wendell is tamed (I won't ruin it by telling you how.), but I'm not sure that I like the way he did it.

Has anyone else read it to give another perspective?

[Rebecca said that the redemption was in Sophie learning to answer Wendell on his own terms, and I think that there is something to that.]

What every parent wants

Last night we had some of Rebecca's colleagues over for dinner (5 adults, no children). Elisabeth was thrilled to show them her room and her toys when they arrived. Then she sat at the table with us for dinner, got down to play while we prepared for dessert, and then sat at the table again for dessert. While we were still at the table, she said, "I'm ready for bed." So we went and put her pajamas on, and came back to brush her teeth. Then, with all the guests still seated at the table, she walked into her room (which is adjacent to the living/dining room), climbed in bed, and asked me to turn off the lights. So I came in, closed the door, turned off the lights, and in less than five minutes she was asleep - and I was able to return to our guests.

That has never happened before, but I pray that it happens again! It made having guests so easy!

On the slide with Penny

As happy as she looks here, Elisabeth wasn't actually crazy about going down the slide with Penny.

Consistency counts

Last week Elisabeth and I went to an art museum. I was pushing the stroller and allowing her to walk. She saw a bench, got excited, and ran to it to climb and sit. I walked over to her and explained that if she ran again and didn't stop when I spoke to her, that she would have to sit strapped in the stroller. Several times during our museum visit, she again got excited and started to run. As soon as I said her name (and I didn't say it loudly), she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. I commended her for listening and stopping, and she continued by walking instead.

It was a great reminder to me that Elisabeth knew that I would follow through on what I had said, and so she was very careful to keep up her end of the deal. If I gave her repeated "warnings" [read: empty threats], she would know that I didn't mean it and would go on with her behavior. Knowing that one infraction would put her in the stroller made her attentive to her behavior, and made my job easy.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum is the adorable tale of a girl who is ashamed of her name. In typical fasion, Kevin Henkes brings a child's experience to life through the characters' words, and through beautiful illustrations.

As usual, he provides insight into the ways that parent-child relationships function, and does it in a way that parents can't help smiling as they're reading to their children.

As in all his best books, this one ends with a twist that pleases the reader, and shows real change in the central character. I'd highly recommend this book for a child who is insecure about any of the many things that make children feel insecure.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late

In typical Mo Willems fashion, this book appeals to kids by repeating lines that they use on their parents all the time. While not on the top of my list for great literature, it is a fun book for helping kids to laugh at the excuses they make at bedtime - and helping them to get to bed more quickly.

Don't expect any Aha! moments, but you can expect a few smiles.

"Mamma don't play"

When I taught in the public schools, I often heard children and parents use the idiom, "Mamma don't play." It often came up in the context of parent teacher conferences. If I addressed a concern, often the mother would say to the child, "You're going to straighten up . . . and you know Mamma don't play." If it was true, that Mom's word meant business, then one mention at a parent teacher conference was all that was needed to change a behavior.

Although I don't use the same idiom with Elisabeth, I think that I want to embody it: Daddy don't play. I want Elisabeth to know that my word means business, and that I don't need to speak twice. (If we were still living where Elisabeth was born, I probably would use it, because she would hear it on the street, and it would be meaningful to her.)

Leftover Turkey

If anyone else is like me, you're looking for tasty diverse ways to use turkey. Look no further.

Watercolors

Coloring a shape

I am fascinated by motor and cognitive development. In the past week or so, I realized that Elisabeth can completely color in a given shape. (That doesn't mean that she stays within the lines; it means that there is no white space left within when she is finished.) I had been trying to teach her to stay within the lines, and her first step was not to do that, but to fully shade the area within.

Just today we tried the same experiment again, and one figure she filled in entirely (with lots of overflow) and another she stayed entirely with in the lines, but drew only a few lines (and didn't fill it entirely). It will be fascinating to see how quickly that next milestone comes.

Lying to your children

It is easy to lie to your kids - especially at bed time. Recently we had some friends (and their children) staying with us. They put the kids to bed and came out to visit with us. When they did, the mother said, "I lied to the little one. I told her that I was going to the bathroom." The rationale is simple: The only way that I can leave the room without the child going into hysterics is to tell her I'm going to the bathroom and coming back.

Also recently friends of ours observed that their babysitter was lying to their daughter. She would say, "Yes, we'll do _____, after you've eaten your food." Then, when the girl had finished her food, the babysitter would not do what had been promised.

These two incidents reminded me just how tempting it is to lie to our children, particularly when it makes separation or compliance easier (at day care, nursery, or bedtime). But the fact is that our children will learn not to trust us. That is a price I am not willing to pay.

The Children's Hour

For some time I have had a link to The Children's Hour on my blog, but I haven't had it in my feed reader, and haven't checked in there very often. This morning a friend sent me a link to a post on The Children's Hour referencing Shepherd Press, with a great exhortation to help our children see the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Ray Van Neste is providing a great resource for parents that I am going to read much more regularly. [I just added him to my feed reader.]

Reading with Cousin Adam

Elisabeth had a wonderful visit with (my) cousin Adam last week. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home for all the adventures, so we only got a few pictures of them together.

Discipline that restores

On the recommendation of the folks at Parenting is Heart Work, I have adopted a model of discipline that I think is effective and Biblical. They suggest that after an incident, the parent ask three questions and then give encouragement.

First, the questions:
(1) What did you do wrong?
• teaches the spiritual discipline of confession
• teaches them to take responsibility for their part of the problem (even if there are others at fault)
(2) Why was that wrong?
• reinforces the rationality of rules
• confirms that the child knows why what they did was unacceptable
(3) What are you going to do differently next time?
• turns the conversation from negative to positive
• enables the child to verbalize what should happen

Then the encouragement:
(4) Go ahead and try it!
• conclude with encouragement to repent

Although they do not prescribe prayer as part of the discipline process, I started praying with Elisabeth every time we have an incident on the recommendation of Ted Tripp. I think it is immensely valuable; indeed I think it is major part of what distinguishes Christian parenting from non-Christian parenting.

The Big Picture Story Bible

I am excited to recommend The Big Picture Story Bible! I have been on a search for a good Bible story book for Elisabeth, and am pleased that I have found one.

However, it is not a conventional Bible story book. Rather, it is what its title suggests: about the Big Picture, both visually and thematically.

You won't find Goliath or Jonah in these pages, because its purpose is not to recount all the Bible stories, but to tell the Biblical story. In 26 parts (11 OT and 15 NT), it tells the story of creation, fall, promise, hope, fulfillment, redemption and anticipation of consumation. Better than any children's bible I have encountered, it puts all the Bible stories in their historical and theological framework - in a way that a 2 year-old can take in, because it is done in narrative form. It does a particularly good job of showing how the OT history fits together in the context of redemptive history and how all along the way, the LORD was predicting and prefiguring the coming forever King.

Quite honestly, I wish that I had had The Big Picture Story Bible or something like it when I was young, because although I knew all the Bible stories backward and forward, I didn't get the Biblical story until much later.

How does this Bible do it so effectively? Its language is kingdom saturated. Of the fall, it reads,

"Adam and Eve chose to doubt God's goodness.
They chose to disobey God's word.
They did not let God be king over them" (42)

When the people rebelled after the giving of the law at Sinai, it recounts:

"Many of them doubted God's Word was good.
Many of them disobeyed God's Word.
Many of them did not let God be king over them" (136).

In announcing the birth of Jesus, it uses these words:

"God, the world's true ruler,
the king of the universe,
was getting ready to show everyone how great he was . . .
God was going to keep his promise of a forever king" (239).

Of the ascension:

"And then suddenly Jesus left them.
He was lifted up into the sky.
He took his throne in heaven and began his kingly rule (417).

Regarding the preaching of the apostles:

"And as the good news of God's kingdom spread,
still more people repented and believed" (423).

I think there is a place for "Bible story" books like the ones that I grew up with. In fact, I think that they are immensely helpful when read in the context of salvation history. I love that this book, filled with wonderful illustrations, clearly presents to Elisabeth the great themes of redemption for what they are: the meaning of human history.

On the Title

Somehow I thought that near the beginning of writing on this blog I had explained the title. It seems that I was mistaken. Since many Christians (and Jews, for that matter) would find it more likely for the blog title to be "Unleavened" than "Till it was all leavened", I think some explanation may be helpful.

The text from which the title takes its name is found in Matthew 13:31-33, in the midst of a larger section packed with parables (13:1-52). The purpose of the parables was interwoven with the Kingdom of God. They were announcement of that Kingdom (19) for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear (16), which are themselves a gift (11).

In this context comes the parable of the leaven:

"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened" (33).

That is the entire parable: one sentence. Yet it says much about the Kingdom, and about our duty.

Yeast is an active ingredient; when it is kneaded into flour, it cannot be stopped; it will leaven the entire loaf. This good news of the Kingdom is to be so worked through our lives as to saturate it, until there is no part of which it can be said, "It is unleavened." The woman has her part in kneading; but the leaven works of itself. She hides it in three measures of flour, and it exerts its power on the whole.

I chose this particular parable for a blog title, because I want to be about that work which the woman was doing: working the leaven throughout the flour, working the good news of the Kingdom into every part of life so that it can have its place, and do its work of bringing everything into happy subjection to the rightful King.