Bad News for Perfect Parents
The January issue of Christianity Today has an insightful article on the myth of the perfect parent. Here are some quotes to whet your appetite and encourage you to read the whole article.
- "If our supposition--that we can measure the success of our parenting by the outcome of our children--is scripturally based, we should be able to apply the test to God himself."
- "The root of much of our pain in parenting...is the belief that we should have control over our children when it is hard enough to have control over ourselves."
- "The record does not tell us if anyone repented as a result of his words, but Ezekiel was never accountable for the repentance of others. He was accountable only for his steadfast obedience."
- "But we must be clear about our own limits. We are not capable of producing perfect followers of Christ, as if we were perfect ourselves. Our work cannot purchase anyone else's salvation or sanctification."
I love the last line. Read the rest here.
Amy’s Surgery
Today our daughter Amy is having her second surgery to correct issues relating to her spina bifida. Her first surgery was in China two years ago, when we first heard of her and decided to adopt her. In today's surgery, the doctor is removing a bone spur on her spinal column and reuniting a split section of her spinal cord. We had originally been told the surgery would be 3-4 hours, but it's turning into at least 8. We're told that she and the doctor are doing well, though.
You can check the widget below throughout the rest of Amy's surgery and hospital stay for continuous updates and photo links from Twitter, or you can visit my Twitter profile. You can also get my wife's perspective at TexasPeaks.com.
Is It Ever Enough?
"...genuine religion in the sight of God the Father
means caring for orphans and widows in their distress ..."
(James 1:27)
I love adoption. I've been adopted myself by a Heavenly Father, and I've adopted two Chinese angels. The issue, though, isn't adoption--it's orphans.
It's about them, not me.
I've encountered a couple different attitudes about caring for orphans.
There are those like my wife and I, who never feel like we've done enough. We've adopted when we could, but we'd love to take in more. Until we can, we're committed to connecting orphans with families. There are just too many orphans out there, though.
There are others who do nothing, but for some reason feel that they've done enough.
To be fair, many of you are in between. But please ask yourself:
Is it ever enough?
Twitter in Plain English
Here's a video that's been around for a while, but for my friends who just don't get Twitter, this is a pretty good explanation. I hope to see you on Twitter soon!
Fun in the Sun and Snow [Video]
With school and work closed because of the ice and snow, our family went around the block to a retention pond to sled down some small hills. This was a first for all of the girls, and a first for me since I was a kid. The funniest part of the day was using a fishing pole to retrieve Karianne's glove that stuck to an icicle she threw out on the frozen pond.
Sorry about the poor video quality. Our video camera's battery died, so we had to use our old regular digital camera.
Snow Day from brent peak on Vimeo.