Destination Living

"Your destination is secure. All of the things that are truly worth living for cannot be taken away from you! You can be at peace even though you do not know how today's drama will end or what tomorrow will bring. You can live with joy even when things make you sad. Christian joy is not about avoiding life while dreaming about heaven. It is about taking an utterly honest look at all earthly life through heaven's lens. There we find real hope." - Paul Tripp & Timothy Lane

This is a little of what I read this morning from "How People Change." I am so grateful for these truths. I'm so grateful that Christ's work on the cross makes me complete in Him and that can never be taken away. Oh, that I would live with this in sight, every moment of every day.

We just spent 4 days with Kyle's family. It was a wonderful time. Spending time with family usually gets me excited for heaven, and that's one reason why those quotes above hit home this morning. Saying goodbye is so hard. I really don't like saying goodbye to my siblings that live in other states - like Jess & Walt, and Chad & Erica. Getting to see them and their children only once or twice a year is difficult. BUT, if I'm living with my destination in sight, goodbyes here on earth should only remind me that there will be no goodbyes in heaven. Yay!

Random . . . as I'm typing this, my 2-year-old is sitting across the table from me munching on a snack. He just let out a really juicy "toot", informed me (with a sly grin on his face) that he just tooted and also said, "Excuse me." I love this boy. :)

I love how God uses my kids to convict me. You'd think that after being so inspired by my reading this morning, that it would stick with me all day, and that I would have heaven in view as I went through the day, right? Haha. This sinner still has a long way to go. A few minutes ago I was working in the boys' room, unpacking their bags and sorting through laundry from our trip. I was also changing sheets and taking the bumpers off of Camden's crib (he became a rolling machine today). While all this was going on, Camden decided to throw a little temper tantrum. I have no idea why - he is usually so happy. I was a bit frustrated and was attempting to encourage him to stop. I picked him up and began to change his diaper. Kendrick came over and stood on his bed (right next to the changing table). As he did, Camden stopped crying.

"Oh, Camen," Kendrick said. "Camen, you stopped crying. God helped you stop crying. Praise the Lord!" He exclaimed as he patted Camden's head.

This was such a sweet moment for me. I was convicted of my bad attitude and overjoyed with the fact that, by God's grace, Kendrick is learning what we've been teaching him!! We have been working so hard lately on teaching him that he always has a choice, and that he can always choose to obey because God can help him. When he doesn't want to, it's because he's a sinner living sinfully instead of a sinner living dependently upon God. As I was thinking through all of this I was overwhelmed by my own sinfulness and how I had seen Camden's little fit as an annoyance and just wanted it over with, instead of living with an eternal mindset and seeing what God would have to teach me through it. God is so good. I'm thankful he used Kendrick to remind me to keep eternity in sight, and I'm thankful He's used me to teach Kendrick that.