Monday, March 17, 2014

book review|What Is Biblical Theology?

  What Is Biblical Theology?  
James M. Hamilton Jr.

As I was first reading this book, I wasn't expecting all this talk of patterns and imagery and symbolism.  Guess I should have taken a look at the subtitle :)--"A Guide to the Bible's Story, Symbolism, and Pattern.  Once I realized this was the primary basis for the book, I was able to read with clear, focused eyes.  

I was given the opportunity to speak to a group of elementary students about the tabernacle God commanded the Israelites to construct multiple times in the Exodus wanderings.  Only by God's gracious providence that I could have that basis--specifically how the tabernacle points to Jesus--to open my eyes to the reality and connections we see throughout Scripture.

Seeing all of these connections, literally written from eternity past, fulfilled in Christ, giving us faith and hope that what is revealed about the future will truly come to pass is amazing.  This is a great resource and a fairly short read (128 pages).  Scripture has been made more alive to me as I see the following pictures within God's Word: tree/root/branch, the flood, the tabernacle/temple, feasts, and suffering to name a few.

This book helps the reader to see that God is big--bigger than we could comprehend.  We are so quick to become so egocentric and self-centered that we forget that there is a bigger story at play going on in the world around us.  The more we are able to see that God is big and man is small, the easier it is for us to look in an objective way at the circumstances we face.  Very practical when counseling others when their judgment is clouded with the emotions surrounding their situation.


Thursday, October 4, 2012

merging...

For those of you who check in every now and then for funny things our little say.... we've moved and merged with our family site:  www.WhereWeAreForNow.com.  You can keep up with us over at that site.  Thanks!

Appointments

I (Marissa) climbed back into bed to snuggle with Emma for a bit after my shower. She scooted over to the end of her pillow and gently patted the empty spot on the pillow for me to lay my head. She began whispering softly, "The dentist is going to be awesome!"

Sneaky boy

Jackson is learning to be sneaky...

He put the rest of his cereal on a different plate and brought the bowl to me saying "gone" .... so that I would get him a snack.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cake

Me: Should we make something yummy tonight after dinner?
Jackson: yes!
M: what should we make?
J: cake!
M: what kind of cake?
J: yummy.

A slow morning

Emma was asked to clean up the play area about five minutes prior to this exchange...

Mama: Emma keep going, there's still lots to clean up.

Emma: Ha you can't tell me to 'keep' going when I haven't started yet!

Maybe mamas not so brave...

Emma: Mom, if daddy is gone and a monster comes into our house then you can just hide and me and Jackson can handle it.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Afternoon snack

In reference to the size of the nutter butter I handed her...

Whoa! That's a beast!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Cheerleader

At the BCS homecoming soccer game the crowd was chanting B-C-S... Once the student section faded out, we hear Emma shouting U-S-A...U-S-A!

Our little patriot!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Tadpole in training

Jackson was just hopping around like a frog chasing a fly shouting, "Ribbit!!"

Thursday, September 20, 2012

I want to stay up and play all night. Oh, wait. Then I would be nocturnal. Hmm... Yeah, maybe I shouldn't because I would be too loud in my family's house during the night.

Watch out

I had just taken out a fly with our flyswatter.

Emma: That's what happens when you mess with mama!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Responses

Daddy: Jackson you can't wear that headband. You're a boy.
Jackson: No. Baby.

---

Jackson said no when I had asked him to do something.
Mama: careful, buddy. You don't say no to mama.
Jackson: aw, man!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Clarification

I told them they could have a cookie if they ate their whole plate. They took it literally.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Owies

Emma, what'd you do to your elbow?

"I biffed it on the sidewalk!"

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Sign of the times

We put in an older Disney movie this morning. During the previews they announced, "Coming soon to video and DVD...". Shortly thereafter Emma asks, "Mama, what's a video?"

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Denied

Emma: Hey, Prince (Jackson)! Hey, Prince! Do you want to go on a date?

Jackson: No.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Family pitch-in

While walking past John, "Oh what is that deliciousness you're holding?"

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Humble.

Mama: Emma you look cute today.
Emma: I know. I'm always cute.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

daddy... i mean, mommy.

mama: sweetie, do you want to bring your candy along?
emma:OH! YES, DAD!
mama: who?
emma: haha... I straight up called you dad!

Friday, May 11, 2012

I kid you not

He came to me like this saying ruff ruff and wanting to play fetch!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

tangled

the following took place before/during our 10:00 showing of Tangled this morning...


"Mommy, can we just skip the beginning and go to the song when she’s cleaning?"

Ow! That’s why you don’t do that in the house!  (Commentary on Rapunzel swinging her frying pan)

After Mother Gothel left for her trip… “Now we need to see what Eugene is up to in that closet.”

Good thing he’s kind to everyone he meets. (when Eugene is flirting with Rapunzel)


(If you are familiar with the movie, you know we didn't get too far into it before she had finished her cereal and headed up to her room to play)

Friday, April 13, 2012

house rules

At our house we have a rule:  Daddy always wins.

Jackson was fighting Daddy while getting his diaper changed.  John succeeded and asked, "Jackson, who always wins?"  To which he responded, "Mama?"

Daddy glared at Jackson, who had a blank look on his face while muttering, "Da-da."

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

aspiring...

emma just tucked a crayon behind her ear and said, "huh, now you know that i'm an artist!"

Sunday, April 8, 2012

the bestest

Mama:  Emma, do you know that you have the best daddy you could ever have?

Emma:  Well, actually.... I have the best daddy anyone could have!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

in the spirit of sharing...


So Jackson has been up for a little while from his nap.  He had been playing in our room (my office) while I kept typing. He picked up Emma's crayon box and I said, "no, no buddy, those are Emma's"... He kind of made this "yeah" sound, and I got back to typing.  Next thing I know, I look up and he's not in our room anymore!  He had walked all the way to Emma's room, trying to wake her up from her nap to give her the crayon box!

I had to apologize to a sleepy emma and bring him back, slowly walking out of her bedroom!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

food police

Emma noticed there were quite a few candies missing from our candy dish.  She asked John, "Did you have any?"

"Well, I had a few..."

"Well, how many?"

"Well, I just... I had a few..."

Very sternly, she replied, "No.  Tell me a number."

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The word is Kleenex

I needed to blow my nose. But don't worry, I ran over and got a "blow-my-nose" paper and took care of it myself.

Gaming

While emma was looking over johns shoulder during a remote control car game...

Dad: Emma, I really just don't have any...
Emma: ...idea what you're doing?


Sent from my iPod

Friday, March 9, 2012

vote of confidence


After telling Emma I'd let her watch a show when she got done eating her breakfast, she replied: Thanks Mom! You're the best mom ever!...of ours.

Awesome.  Way to keep my ego in check this morning, daughter!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Lyrics for a good wife

From enchanted:

Together: How does she know that you love her?

Emma next line: how do you know she declutters?

Thursday, March 1, 2012

school days

emma just turned her worksheet over and said (with way too much enthusiasm)... 


"wow, this one looks like a fun one! it's the letter R!"

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

daddy/daughter date

starting with dinner at chik-fila-a:

to the girl taking orders behind the counter...
     "you look beautiful today.... like me."

during the previews:
a comedian was rambling on and on about something...  those in the theater started laughing... when it became quiet again, she turned to daddy...
     "I have no idea what he's talking about."

during the movie...
I (john) handed emma some of our movie snack: you guessed it… sweet tart jellybeans… maybe you weren’t thinking of that but it’s one of Daddy’s favorites. Then the faint noise of a single jelly bean hitting the concrete floor underneath her seat could be heard and Emma said, “It’s OK if I dropped one…” then as that same sound came again--click, click, click “…uh,  or two.”

after the movie, a quick stop to walk around PetSmart...

We were talking through the Petsmart and we walked around and every 10 seconds I  (john) would hear “Oh Daddy, I really need to show you something”… so after seeing various bobble head dogs, collars, and decorations… each introduced with that same phrase, “Oh Daddy, I really need to show you something” we finally made our way to the fishies. Emma noticed a couple of boys with bags of fish in their hands. She asked me if she could hold one and I said those boys were holding them because they were going to take them home… and her paused then her face lit up and she said, “Oh Daddy I am so happy for the fishies being adopted!”

Such a kind heart my little punkin has!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

enchanted

in response to the animals helping princess jazelle clean the apartment....

that's silly.... we don't let rats in the house... {long pause}... just mice.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

can I get an amen?

Emma was sitting with me during the prayer meeting on Sunday night.  Pastor was explaining to the congregation about a large payment the church would soon be making toward the remaining mortgage.  After going over it a couple of times, he said "I hope that makes sense.  Does anybody have any questions on that?

In the silence, Emma chimed in... "NOPE! I don't have any questions!"

Sunday, January 22, 2012

princess date

While on our princess date to dinner and a show (Disney on Ice--Princesses)

At dinner...
Mama: Emma, you are getting so grown up...
Emma: No, I'm just smarter than you!

From our parking spot to the arena, after I explained to her that our seats might be way up high...
Emma:  That's okay, Mama.  Even if I have to walk a lot, a lot of stairs and even if I get tired, I'll suck it in.
Mama:  [after taking a minute trying to figure out what she means]  oh,  you mean you'll suck it up?
Emma:  Yeah, I'll suck it up and keep climbing!

Before the show, while waiting in our seats...
Emma: [talking about rapunzel]  Oh! Maybe she will look and see me and think 'Hmm... Cute! I should cut my hair too!'

The show followed the stories of Tiana, then Cinderella, and then Rapunzel. During intermission (halfway through Cinderella)...
Emma:  I'm waiting for my favorite part.
Mama:  What's that?
Emma:  When they get married and we get to see Rapunzel!

After the show, while walking down a stairwell to our exit (well, actually it was the wrong exit, but still)...
I had explained to her how we couldn't really get any of the souvenirs because we spent all our money on the tickets to see the show.
Emma:  Oh. Yeah.  That's right.  Maybe we can just have Daddy go make more money for us.

(we had a great night, even though it was FREEZING outside.  The girl could not stop talking to her daddy about all that she saw.  Seeing her so full of joy made me so joyful that I really wasn't bothered by the fact that my incorrect exit caused me an extra 3 blocks of walking in the frigid temps!)

oh, the weather outside is frightful.

Mom, it's cold outside today.  We need coats for our legs.

(Yes, sweetie, I think they are called pants.)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

miss ar-teest

I set Emma up in our tub with her easel and some paint to do some painting with potentially easy cleanup.  I told her to use lots of paint, and smear it all around with her brush and scribble it!

"No mama, I don't want to scribble.  Scribbling is not fun!"

Friday, December 23, 2011

he can't actually hear you

emma was standing by me as i opened up an email from daddy... i said "emma, daddy says he misses you." she leaned in toward the screen and said softly "thanks, daddy!"

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

It's a miracle!

Jackson is holding a piece of the play nativity set---emma took it and walked across the room saying "now walk to  baby Jesus.  Walk to baby Jesus!"

Saturday, December 3, 2011

wise deductions

daddy tooted while working on the floor.  jokingly, he  immediately blamed emma.

Emma: I didn't toot.  That was a loud one and I don't do loud toots.  and neither does mama.  it had to be daddy.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

cold and partly cloudy

Watching the weather during the 12:00 news...

"Wow... she looks really cute today! Don't you think she looks really cute, Mom?"

malpractice suit?

Emma (excuse me... Rapunzel) and her husband Eugene have been having lots of babies recently.  Let me stress once again...her HUSBAND Eugene.

"Mom, I've got to go to the doctor and get my baby out!"

[from what I could see as she ran around the corner, she laid down somewhere on the floor and pretended to have the doctor take the baby out of her belly--we recently saw an episode of the Duggars where the mom had a C-section, so at this point, no hard questions have been asked about the whole baby escape].

A while later, she came up to me and handed me a washcloth. "Here.  You need to wash this because my baby was all bloody because they didn't wash him when he was born."

Mama: They don't sound like very good doctors.

Emma:  No, they are good doctors, but sometimes they just forget.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

accidentally

lately, we've had to discuss with emma what it means to do something "on accident".  usually we hear, "Mom, i accidentally opened the front door" (or insert some other action which she knows is wrong).  To which we reply, "no, emma.  actually you really did mean to open the front door.  you did it on purpose."  "Oh, sorry, mom."

well today, she came in to the kitchen while I was getting Jackson's breakfast ready saying, "Mom, I meant to spill my milk."

It took me a while to process, but reassured her that no, she probably spilled her milk on accident.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

options

A friend of Emma's couldn't think of anything she wanted for Christmas to tell her aunt and Emma looked at her and said " Shawna, you have to consider your options."

etc.

Emma, you need to start remembering again to flush the potty when you're done or we're not going to let you use the restroom anymore.  {sarcasm}

"Oh, then i'll just have to go outside!"

---

Daddy, can you open my peanut for me?  I'm not as strong as you.

---

While listening to an infomercial on the radio about some diet product, we overheard: "And now, I can even wear my skinny jeans!"

Emma replied:  "Skinny jeans!?!?! Good job!"